c, 


GuElmw 


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_1 . 


ffiilffin©ii 


This  house  is  built  on  horizontal  lines,  to  repeat  the  great  horizontal  lines  of  the  prairie.     See  page  3 


This  is  Circular  170  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  published 
by  the  Department  of  Horticulture,  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  1914 


COPIES  FREE  TO  ANYONE  IN    ILLINOIS  WHO  WILL  SIGN  A   PROMISE  TO   DO   SOME 
PERMANENT   ORNAMENTAL   PLANTING   WITHIN    A    YEAR 


I.  THE  CONNECTICUT  STYLE  OF   FARM  ARCHITECTURE   AND   PLANTING 

"Connecticut  has  many  a  clapboarded  farmhouse  shaded  by  white  oaks  or  other  trees  that  were  here  when  the  first  white  man  came,  while  on 
lawn  may  be  a  rhododendron  or  mountain  laurel  planted  by  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  owner."    (See  page  3.) 


St'gn  and  mail  this  to  Wilhelm  Miller,  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  Illinois 


If  you  have  already  signed  a  ballot,  give  this  to  a  friend.    A  copy  of  Circular  170  will  be  sent  to  everyone 
who  signs  one  of  these  promises  to  do  some  permanent  ornamental  planting  within  a  year. 

Australian  Ballot  for  the  People  of  Illinois 

/  WILL 

Q  Plant  or  improve  my  WINDBREAK,  not  live  in  a  bare,  wind-swept  spot. 
Q  SCREEN  unsightly  objects,  e.  g.,  barnyard  and  outbuildings. 

Frame  the  VIEW  of  my  house  from  the  road  and  of  the  farm  from  my  dining- 
room  and  -porch. 

Plant  bushes  and  vines  against  the  FOUNDATIONS  of  my  house. 

Make  a  good  permanent   LAWN,  not   a  cheap  weed-patch,  and  keep  the  center 
open,  not  scatter  plants  over  it. 

Have  SHRUBBERY,  instead  of  artificial  hedges,  or  temporary  flower-beds  in  the 
middle  of  the  lawn. 

Save  old  TREES  on  lawn,  roadside,  or  pasture. 

Q  Plant  chiefly  long-lived  NATIVE  MATERIAL,  not   short-lived  "quick-growers," 
or  foreign  and  artificial  varieties. 

Q  Make  a  practical  FLOWER-GARDEN,  e.  g.,  a  cut-flower,  bird,  children's,  wild, 
winter,  or  tree-garden,  instead  of  copying  something  eastern,  English,  or  Italian. 

Q]  Plant  an  ILLINOIS  BORDER,  sacred  to  Illinois  trees,  shrubs,  and  wild  flowers. 

Q   Restore   and   preserve   the   LOCAL   COLOR,  instead  of  destroying  every  shrub 
within  a  mile. 

Q  Adopt  the   ILLINOIS   WAY,  not   the   gaudy,  conventional,   and   imitative    style, 
for  I  do  not  want  my  place  to  look  like  every  beginner's  the  world  over. 

Q  Build  and  plant  a  PERMANENT  COUNTRY  HOME. 

^]  PLAN  or  re-plan  my  home  grounds,  or  engage  a  landscape  gardener. 

Without  agreeing  to   pay    anybody  anything,   I    promise  to   do   some   permanent 
ornamental  planting  within  a  year. 


Address. 


lawn 


£) 


Pl('isr-« 


Cfi!MsM>a 


m  iPainsa 


(Sam  ©@i£  a©©  t©  3,5©©©  p©2"  ©©autf  Ps?©!?^  Sim 

s  ^znrssi&gisl  aan  jPHamjnaingj  sisnifl  IPHmarJainDj  "& 

3  'Joins1  Faa-SM^  •£©  iJny  S^ftMaug  ©g  ttSi®  J\.(M©dl  3H©si 


Siroam  a 
(Sasli  '^iilus  ©5? 


OBODY  can  afford  to  have  bare  and  ugly  home 
grounds.  It  is  bad  business.  Of  course,  we  do  not 
commonly  take  a  business  view  of  our  homes;  we 
think  of  home  in  terms  of  sentiment.  For  we  all 
want  the  best  there  is  in  life,  and  we  know  we  can 
raise  better  children  if  they  have  beautiful  sur- 
roundings. But,  granting  that  we  all  have  the  best  sentiment 
in  the  world,  we  cannot  escape  the  business  side.  For  in- 
stance, we  all  have  to  consider  the  cost  of  making  a  lawn,  of 
fertilizing  and  planting. 

Now,  there  are  two  ways  of  handling  these  practical  matters, 
one  of  which  gives  little  or  no  profit  while  the  other  gives  very 
great  profits.  Of  course,  you  do  not  expect  to  make  money  out 
of  your  home — you  expect  to  live  in  it, — but  the  day  will  come 
when  you  or  your  children  will  wish  to  sell  part  or  all  of  your 
property.  And  the  buyer  will  look  at  everything  you  have  done 
from  the  cold,  unsympathetic  viewpoint  of  hard-cash  value. 
The  man  of  wealth  who  indulges  every  personal  whim,  and 
makes  an  eccentric  place,  will  lose  a  lot  of  money.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  you  leave  your  place  bare,  it  may  be  absolutely 
unsalable  when  the  time  of  need  comes,  or  you  will  get  less  than 
it  is  worth.  But,  if  your  farm  is  sensibly  planted,  you  can 
get  a  bigger  profit  for  the  money  you  put  into  trees  and  shrubs 
than  for  the  same  money  spent  on  house,  barn,  or  hogs.  Then 
old  trees,  that  cost  you  nothing  to  plant,  may  bring  you  a 
millionaire  buyer.  Ten  dollars  spent  on  shrubs  and  vines  planted 
against  the  foundation  of  your  house  may  add  $100  to  its 
cash  selling  value.  This  circular  tells  of  people  who  have 
found  buyers,  or  actually  made  100  to  1,000  per  cent  profit, 


from  ornamental  planting.  Such  profits  sound  like  a  "get- 
rich-quick  scheme,"  but  that  they  are  made  is  true.  And  the 
reason  for  these  enormous  profits  is  that  what  you  plant  on 
your  lawn  is  seen  by  everybody.  It  may  be  much  more  impor- 
tant to  spend  $100  on  a  bathroom;  but,  for  one  person  who 
sees  the  $100  you  spend  on  plumbing  or  interior  decoration, 
there  are  thousands  of  passers-by  who  see  the  $10  spent  in 
your  front  yard.  If  you  spend  that  $10  in  the  ordinary  way 
of  "beautifying  the  farm,"  you  will  get  back  not  one  single 
cent.  If  you  spend  it  in  the  "Illinois  way,"  you  cannot  help 
increasing  the  cash  value  or  salability  of  your  farm,  because 
permanent  trees  are  worth,  for  beauty  alone,  $i  a  square  inch 
in  cross-section  of  their  trunk  three  feet  above  the  ground, 
and  they  increase  in  value  every  year. 

THE  COMMON   WAY  OF  PLANTING   IS 
UNPROFITABLE 

The  common  way  of  planting  is  to  scatter  flower-beds 
over  a  lawn.  (See  Fig.  2.)  It  aims  to  make  the  biggest  show 
for  the  money  and  get  immediate  results.  That  is  why  begin- 
ners make  fancy  beds  of  complicated  design  and  fill  them  with 
coleus  and  cannas,  which  give  great  masses  of  striking  color 
for  three  months  or  more.  But  next  winter  those  beds  are 
vacant  and  ugly,  and  next  spring  the  same  work  must  be 
done,  and  every  year  there  is  a  fresh  outlay  of  money  for  the 
same  thing.  Soon  the  constant  repetition  of  the  work  gets 
monotonous,  and  next  we  realize  that  the  effect  is  gaudy; 
for  our  standards  are  constantly  rising,  and  what  we  admired 


}f  Planting  a  Lawn 


he  "Illinois  Way"  of  Planting  a  Lawn 


This  sort  of  thing  intoxicates  beginners  the  world  over.    The  plants  are  scattered,  so  Leaving  the  center  open  and  grouping  the  shrubs  at  the  sides,  so  as  to  frame  a  picture 

to  make  the  biggest  show.    Ninety  per  cent  are  foreign  or  artificial  varieties,  e.g.,  cut-         of  the  home.    The  trees  are  not  trimmed  up  like  street  trees,  but  all  the  lower  branches  are 
ved,  weeping,  and  variegated  shrubs,  or  tender  foliage  plants  and  double  flowers,  such         preserved,  and  bushes  connect  lawn  and  trees.    Ninety  per  cent  are  hardy  trees  and  shrubs 


as  to  mak 
leav 


,  ,  ,  , 

as  cannas,  coleus,  and  the  double  hydrangea.    Why  not  move  such  plants  to  the  back  yard 
or  garden?    In  the  front  yard  they  tend  to  make  all  the  world  look  alike. 


.  , 

preserved,  and  bushes  connect  lawn  and  trees.    Ninety  per  cent  are  hardy-trees  and  shrubs 
native  to  Illinois.    Let  Illinois  look  different  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world!    (Magnus  place, 


. 
Winnetka,  same  as  cover.    House  by  Spencer,  grounds  by  Jensen.) 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


4.  The  English  Style  of  Farm  Architecture  and  Planting 

The  kind  of  house  that  has  sheltered  ten  generations  of  farmers  in  the  same  family. 
Surrounded  by  English  oaks  and  English  daffodils.  Let  us  learn  from  England  to  plant 
permanent  trees,  instead  of  temporary  ones,  like  soft  maples  and  poplars. 

five  years  ago  now  seems  in  bad  taste.  It  dawns  on  us  that 
any  beginner  can  put  flower-beds  in  the  middle  of  the  lawn, 
and  that  every  beginner  will  try  to  make  each  dollar  stand  up 
on  edge  where  everyone  can  see  it.  Thus,  we  come  to  hate 
show,  and  to  care  more  for  privacy,  permanence,  dignity,  peace, 
restfulness,  outdoor  living,  winter  comfort,  views,  a  playground 
for  the  children,  old  trees,  cut-flowers  in  the  house  all  the  time, 
and  low  cost  of  maintenance.  Why  lose  money  by  planting 
now  what  you  will  tear  out  five  years  hence,  when  you  know 
better?  Why  not  anticipate  the  growth  of  your  own  and 
everybody's  good  taste,  so  that  you  will  waste  no  precious 
years,  and  your  place  will  grow  lovelier  and  more  valuable 
every  year? 

THE   "ILLINOIS  WAY"  OF  PLANTING 

The  right  way  is  to  use  permanent  plants,  instead  of  tem- 
porary ones;  and  to  place  them  where  they  will  meet  every 
practical  need  of  the  family,  instead  of  scattering  them  for  show. 


(See  Fig.  3.)  And  the  "Illinois  way"  is  to  meet  all  the  outdoor 
needs  of  the  family  by  having  ninety  per  cent  of  the  plant- 
ing composed  of  trees  and  shrubs  that  grow  wild  in  Illinois. 
Why  Illinois  trees?  Because  they  are  hardy,  and  therefore 
economical  to  maintain.  We  do  not  have  to  test  their  hardiness, 
since  Nature  has  adapted  them  to  our  conditions  by  experi- 
ments covering  tens  ot  thousands  of  years.  Moreover,  we  want 
Illinois  to  look  different  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  to 
have  a  noble  character  of  its  own!  The  highest  ideal  that  any 
farmer  can  realize  is  to  have  a  profitable  farm  with  permanent 
buildings  and  permanent  planting,  both  of  which  are  utterly 
different  from  those  of  Europe,  and  as  full  as  possible  of  Ameri- 
can and  even  of  state  character. 

THE  EUROPEAN   WAY 

European  farm  homes  are  so  different  that  you  can  usually 
tell  simply  from  a  picture  whether  they  are  German,  French, 
Dutch,  Italian,  or  Spanish.  The  English  farmer  often  lives  in 
a  house  of  brick  or  stone  which  has  sheltered  his  family  for 
generations.  (See  Fig.  4.)  In  front  of  it  stand  a  pair  of  oaks 
that  have  defied  the  storms  of  300  to  500  years.  The  house  is 
covered  with  ivy  or  with  roses,  which  climb  to  the  top  of  the 
red-tiled  roof.  The  yard  is  surrounded  by  a  hedge  of  hawthorn 
or  of  holly.  The  Englishman  boasts  that  he  loves  his  home 
more  than  any  other  man  living,  and  points  to  the  fact  that 
the  English  language  is  the  only  one  that  has  separate  words 
for  "house"  and  "home." 

THE   AMERICAN   WAY 

Every  old  state  in  America  tends  to  have  its  own  style  of 
building  and  planting.  Massachusetts  is  famous  for  her  Colo- 
nial, or  Georgian  houses,  like  the  one  in  which  Longfellow  lived, 
with  century-old  elms  sheltering  the  stately  roof  like  gigantic 
umbrellas.  Virginia  is  celebrated  for  the  farmhouses  built  by 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  their  friends — their 
hospitable  roofs  shaded  by  towering  tulip  trees  or  ancient 
live-oaks  hung  with  moss.  Long  Island  is  noted  for  the  homes 
of  its  cauliflower  growers,  with  every  room  open  to  the  ocean 
breeze,  and  the  white,  wide-shingled  walls  set  off  by  feathery 
locust  trees,  loaded  in  June  with  wistaria-like  clusters  of  fra- 


5.  The  Lancaster  County  Style  of  Farm  Architecture  and  Planting 

In  Pennsylvania,  a  single  glance  from  the  car-window  will  often  tell  you  what  county 
•you_  are  in.  In  Lancaster  County  you  see  brick  houses  like  this,  with  double  porches, 
quaint  projections  on  the  roof  to  prevent  snowslides,  and  a  "date  stone."  We  need  three 
different  types  of  farmhouse  and  planting  in  northern,  central,  and  southern  Illinois. 


The  Delaware  County  Style  of  Farm  Architecture  and  Planting 


In  Pennsylvania,  whenever  you  see  farmhouses  of  native  stone  set  up  in  this  way,  it 
is  a  fair  guess  that  you  are  in  Delaware,  Bucks,  or  some  adjacent  county.  Let  us  nave 
local  color  too,  instead  of  "French  rehash"  or  cheap  imitations  of  Italy  or  England!  Let 
us  have  permanent  farm  homes! 


CL 


-LA-JjlLElTttV/ 

THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


7.  What  We  See  Too  Often  in  Illinois 

A  wooden  building  covered  with  meaningless  ornamentation  and  gaudy  paints,  and  with- 
out a  single  tree  or  shrub  to  make  it  look  at  home.  To  fit  the  country,  a  house  should  be 
long  and  low;  this  is  tall  and  narrow — a  total  misfit.  Country  houses  should  not  be  built 
on  city  models.  (This  citified  sham  and  firetrap  cost  over  $5,000.) 

grant  white  flowers.  Georgia  is  renowned  for  her  houses  in 
the  Greek  style,  which  are  genuinely  adapted  to  a  hot  climate 
by  reason  of  their  "galleries,"  or  second-story  porches,  where 
the  family  can  enjoy  every  passing  breeze  and  feast  their  eyes 
upon  the  grandest  subtropical  tree  in  the  world,  Magnolia 
grandiflora.  Connecticut  has  many  a  clapboarded  farmhouse, 
shaded  by  white  oaks  that  were  here  when  the  first  white  man 
came,  while  on  the  lawn  may  be  a  rhododendron  or  mountain 
laurel,  planted  by  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  owner. 
(See  Fig.  i.)  In  Pennsylvania  you  can  often  tell  what  county 
you  are  in  by  a  single  glance  out  of  the  car-window.  If  you  see 
everywhere  massive  farmhouses  of  local  stone,  laid  up  in  Ger- 
mantown  style,  it  is  a  fair  wager  that  you  are  in  Bucks,  Chester, 
or  Delaware  County.  (See  Fig.  6.)  If  your  eye  meets  ancient 
brick  houses,  with  porches  extending  the  full  length  of  each 
house,  a  diamond-shaped  stone  bearing  the  date  of  its  erec- 
tion (see  Fig.  5),  and  odd  little  projections  on  the  slate  roof, 
to  keep  the  snow  from  falling  off  in  great  chunks  that  may 
bury  a  person,  it  is  a  safe  guess  that  you  are  in  Lancaster  or 
some  adjacent  county.  The  great  variety  of  majestic  oaks 
that  have  brooded  for  a  century  or  more  over  these  venerable 
houses  proclaim  that  eastern  Pennsylvania  is  a  paradise  for 
trees  designed  by  Nature  to  last  through  the  centuries.  Even 


8.  What  We  Want  to  See  Oftener  in   Illinois 

A  genuine  farmhouse,  built  of  permanent  native  materials,  and  surrounded  by  perma- 
nent native  plants — nothing  rare,  costly,  or  foreign.  Adapted  to  the  climate,  soil,  labor 
conditions,  family,  and  landscape.  Cost  $4,000.  (Home  of  Joseph  E.  Wing,  the  well-known 
agricultural  expert  and  writer,  at  Mechanicsburg,  Ohio.) 

in  the  new  state  of  Oregon,  the  up-to-date  apple-growers  of 
Hood  River  are  laying  the  foundations  of  a  state  style  of 
architecture  and  gardening,  with  their  low  houses,  screened 
porches,  and  paths  lined  with  great  double  garden  roses  bloom- 
ing in  a  profusion  that  is  impossible  in  the  East.  Every  state 
will  eventually  have  its  own  style  of  farm  architecture  and 
gardening.  Nothing  can  stop  it,  and  we  can  profit  by  build- 
ing and  planting  in  the  style  that  will  become  dominant  as 
the  centuries  roll  by. 

THE   "ILLINOIS   WAY"    OF   FARM    ARCHITECTURE 
AND   GARDENING 

What  we  want  is  an  "Illinois  way"  of  farm  architecture  and 
gardening,  and  already  we  have  some  splendid  examples  of  the 
"real  thing."  (See  the  cover,  which  shows  the  Magnus  place  at 
Winnetka,  designed  by  Robert  C.  Spencer,  landscape  by 
Jens  Jensen.)  This  house  is  built  on  horizontal  lines,  to  repeat 
the  great  horizontal  lines  of  land,  woods,  crops,  and  clouds, 
which  are  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  prairie.  The  hawthorn  at 
the  right  is  planted  for  the  same  purpose.  Over  95  per  cent  of 
the  plants  are  permanent  and  native  to  Cook  County.  This  is 
the  work  of  a  new  and  virile  school  of  western  art,  which 


9.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Sheltering  Crops 

Windbreak  of  red  cedar  in  a  nursery  of  seedling  trees  at  Dundee,  III.  Efficient  after 
twenty  years,  none  of  the  lower  branches  being  gone.  (Red  cedar  is  unpopular  in  fruit- 
growing regions  because  the  cedar  apples  may  transmit  a  disease  to  fruits.) 


10.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Sheltering  Stock 

Windbreak  of  arborvitK  at  Crystal  Lake,  111.  Cattle  can  be  fattened  quicker  and  at 
less  cost  when  protected  from  winter  winds  than  on  unprotected  farms.  "Arborvitae  is  the 
best  windbreak  for  Illinois,"  says  a  veteran  nurseryman,"  and  will  last  one  hundred  years." 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


believes  in  "local  color."  Its  home  is  the  Cliff  Dwellers'  Club, 
in  Chicago.  These  men  no  longer  fear  or  despise  the  prairie; 
they  love  it,  and  are  opening  our  eyes  to  its  true  wonder  and 
beauty.  Among  them  are  Lorado  Taft  in  sculpture,  Hamlin 
Garland  and  Nicholas  V.  Lindsay  in  poetry;  Louis  H.  Sullivan 
and  Frank  Lloyd 
Wright  in  archi- 
tecture; Frank  C. 
Peyraud  and 
Charles  Francis 
Browne  in  paint- 
ing; O.  C.  Simonds 
and  Jens  Jensen 
in  landscape  gar- 
dening. 

We  want 
something  better 
than  the  type  we 
see  everywhere 
in  1 1 1  i  n  o  i  s — the 
wooden,  citified 
house,  that  is 
loaded  with  gin- 
gerbread, painted 
in  a  half-dozen 
gaudy  colors,  and 
without  a  single 
tree  or  shrub  to 
reconcile  it  with 
natural  surround- 
ings. (See  Fig.  7.) 
Our  first  job  is  to 
build  houses  that 
will  fit  the  prairie 
climate,  soil,  labor 
conditions,  life, 
and  landscape,  as 
does  Joseph  E. 
Wing's  house  in 
Ohio.  (See  Fig.  8.) 
His  house  fits  the 
country  because  it 
is  long  and  low — 
not  tall  and  nar- 
row, as  city  houses 
have  to  be.  It 
fits  the  labor  con- 
ditions, because  it 
is  a  servantless 
house,  arranged 
to  save  the  house- 
wife's steps,  and  

easy  to  care    for 

•with  such  devices  What  wild 

as      the      vacuum-  and  fragrance  wlen  in  blooml 

cleaner,  power-washer,  mangle,  and  other  apparatus  described 
by  Mrs.  Eugene  Davenport  in  "Possibilities  of  the  Country 
Home."  (This  pamphlet  may  be  obtained  free  of  charge  by 
addressing  a  request  to  the  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station.)  The  Illinois  farmhouse  must  be  better  adapted  to 
our  climate  than  the  tenant  house .  of  the  Corn  Belt,  for  the 
winter  winds  sweep  right  through  such  a  shell,  and  during 
our  hot  summers  it  is  "a  regular  oven."  We  want  a  house 
that  is  warm  at  twenty  below  zero,  and  cool  during  corn 
weather,  by  reason  of  its  sleeping-  or  dining-porch  and  its 
overshadowing  eaves  or  trees.  So,  too,  with  planting;  we  want 


an  "Illinois  way"  of  landscape  gardening  that  will  be  like 
an  old-fashioned  ship — every  line  for  use,  and  not  a  single 
dollar  for  mere  show.  Let  us  plant  only  what  is  necessary, 
profitable,  or  reasonable,  and  the  result  cannot  help  being 
beautiful ! 

WINDBREAKS 
FOR  PROFIT 
AND  BEAUTY 

"The  greatest 
enemy  of  the 
farmer,"  says 
Theodore  Roose- 
v  e  1 1 ,  "is  the 
wind."  Clearly, 
the  first  step  in 
the  "Illinois  way" 
is  to  provide 
shelter  from  the 
biting  winds  of 
winter  and  the 
drying  winds  of 
summer.  The 
pioneers  did  this 
before  they  built 
their  cabins,  but 
many  of  their  de- 
scendants are  cut- 
ting down  big 
trees  because  they 
believe  trees  are 
not  worth  the 
space  they  take — 
especially  on  land 
worth  $200  an 
acre. 

Opinions  differ 
widely  as  to  the 
best  trees  for 
windbreaks,  and 
the  best  way  to 
arrange  them ;  but 
much  help  can  be 
had  from  the  most 
elaborate  work  on 
the  subject,  viz., 
"Windbreaks," 
by  Carlos  G.  Bates 
(Bulletin  86  of  the 
Forest  Service), 
which  can  be  had 
at  a  small  price 
from  the  Super- 
intendent of  Pub- 
lic Documents, 
Washington,  D.  C.  L.  H.  Bailey  gives  thirteen  points  in  favor 
of  windbreaks  and  four  against  them  in  his  "Principles  of  Fruit- 
Growing."  See  Figs.  9  and  10. 

SCREENING    UNSIGHTLY   OBJECTS 

An  Illinois  farmer  wanted  to  sell  his  farm,  but  could  not 
find  a  buyer.  The  reason  for  this,  which  no  one  realized,  was 
the  ugly,  bad-smelling  barnyard  right  across  the  road  from  the 
house.  One  night  the  barn  burned  down,  and  after  that  the 
farmer  sold  his  farm  for  more  than  he  had  asked  before.  The 
reason  was  two-fold:  The  unsightly  barnyard  was  removed, 


n.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Screening  Unsightly  Objects 

I,  at  no  cost,  in  seven  years  in  Champaign  County,  four  miles  from  Urhana.    Imagine  its  beauty 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


12.  Unsightly  Objects  That  Should  Be  Screened  13.  Free  Material  for  Screening  Unsightly  Objects 

The  humblest  renter  in  Illinois  can  at  least  cover  an  outhouse  with  wild  cucumber  vines  in  one  seasonal  no  cost.  Wild    cucumber  (Echinocystis  lobata)  is  native  to  Illinois 

But  permanant  vines  are  better.    Anyone  with  two  hands  and  a  spade  can  dig  up  elder,  sumach,  or  trumpet  creeper.  and  the  humblest  tenant  can  collect  the  seeds.     Or  five  cents 

Evergreens  are  still  better,  because  beautiful  the  year  round.  will  buy  enough  to  hide  the  outbuildings  shown  in  Fig.  12. 


and  a  fine  view  of  the  prairie  which  no  one  had  ever  seen  was 
revealed.  Can't  you  arrange  your  windbreak  so  that  it  will 
also  act  as  a  screen — hiding  some  barnyard,  outbuilding,  tele- 
phone wires,  billboard,  or  advertisement-covered  building? 
The  humblest  renter  in  Illinois  can  at  least  cover  the  outhouse 
in  a  single  season  without  cost,  by  the  aid  of  wild  cucumber 
vines.  (See  Figs.  12  and  13.)  Wild  grape  (Fig.  n)  or  trumpet- 
creeper  will  do  a  better  job;  and  anyone  who  has  two  hands, 
a  wheelbarrow,  and  a  spade,  can  dig  up  enough  elder  and 
sumach  from  the  roadside  to  make  the  outbuildings  decent 
without  delay.  Evergreens  make  ideal  screens  because  they 
are  effective  the  year  round.  If  these  are  not  thrifty  in  your 
locality,  try  lattice.  This  may  cost  something  for  material  and 
labor,  but  it  is  worth  it,  because  it  hides  that  outbuilding  or 
ash-heap  without  delay,  both  summer  and  winter.  For  other 
screening  suggestions,  see  Figs.  14  to  16. 


THE  VIEW  FROM  THE  ROAD 

The  salability  of  a  property  is  often 
influenced  by  the  first  impression  which 
the  public  gets  of  the  house.  (See  Figs. 
19  and  20.)  If  you  see  a  house  too  far 
away,  it  seems  mean  or  small;  if  you  turn 
a  corner  and  are  suddenly  confronted  by 
the  house,  the  approach  is  too  abrupt.  A 
house  should  be  first  seen  from  the  point 
where  it  appears  to  the  best  advantage. 
Remember  this  w^hen  choosing  a  site  for 
your  new  house.  If  the  location  is  fixed, 
can't  you  rearrange  your  drive?  For 
instance,  if  the  house  is  visible  too  far 
away,  curve  your  drive  and  plant  the 
curves,  so  that  the  house  will  be  hidden 
until  you  come  to  the  best  place  for  re- 
vealing it.  For  other  suggestions  about 
the  approach,  see  Figs.  17  and  18. 

GIVE  YOUR  HOUSE  A 
BACKGROUND 

A  background  makes  all  the  difference 
between  a  house  and  a  home.  (See  Figs. 


21  and  22.)  Your  house  will  be  twice  as  easy  to  sell  if  it  is 
seen  against  woods  or  orchards  rather  than  empty  sky.  If 
your  house  is  already  located  and  has  no  background,  plant 
some  tall-growing  trees  behind  it.  Why  not  plant  some  of 
the  trees  that  reach  their  greatest  height  in  the  state  of 
Illinois,  e.g.,  the  sycamore,  the  linden,  the  sweet  gum,  and  the 
tulip  tree,  which  has  gorgeous  cup-like  flowers,  four  inches 
across,  of  yellow  marked  with  orange? 

A   GLIMPSE  IS  BETTER  THAN   THE  WHOLE 

Again,  "a  glimpse  is  usually  better  than  the  whole  thing," 
as  Mr.  O.  C.  Simonds  often  says.    Most  of  the  old  farmhouses 
in  Illinois  are  very  poor  architecturally.    The  ideal  is  a  new 
and  better  home;  the    next  best  thing  is  remodeling;  but  if 
neither  is  practical,  can't  you   hide  the 
unattractive  part  by  planting,  and  show 
the  attractive  ?   Even  a  house  that  is  as 
false  and  ugly  as  Fig.  7  may  have  some 
good  detail.    Study  once  more  the  house 
you  think  hopeless,  and  hold  your  hands 
before  your  eyes  in  such  a  way  as  to  hide 
the  bad  and  show  the  good.    Then  see 
if  you  cannot  find  trees  that  will  do  the 
work  in  a  reasonable  time. 


FRAME  THE  VIEW 
YOUR  HOUSE 


OF 


14.  The  Illinois  Rose  to  Cover  Clothes-posts 

Clothes-posts  need  not  be  ugly.  They  can  be  made 
beautiful  the  year  round  by  planting  a  prairie  rose  (Rosa 
sctigera)  at  the  base  of  each  post.  To  train  it,  simply  tack 
a  piece  of  cloth  over  each  shoot.  Let  us  plant  an  Illinois 
rose  against  every  clothes-post  in  Illinois! 


You  can  greatly  increase  the  value  of 
your  property  by  planting  the  right  sort 
of  trees  at  either  end  of  your  house,  so 
as  to  frame  a  picture  of  your  home. 
Many  a  rich  man  in  the  East  pays  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  extra  for  a  farm  because 
the  old  house  is  surrounded  by  century- 
old  elms.  He  builds  a  big  new  house 
under  the  old  trees  and  at  once  it  looks 
old  and  mellow.  The  pioneers  thought 
only  of  shade  and  shelter  from  the  wind, 
and  so  they  commonly  planted  trees  all 
around  the  farmhouse,  generally  too  near 
one  another  and  too  close  to  the  house. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


15.   Before  Screening  Unsightly  Objects 
"Every  time  we  sat  down  to  rest  or  take  a  meal,  I  had  to  look  at  this  barn,  windmill,  cider-house,  and  spraying  outfit.    Finally  Mrs.  Dunlap  and  I  got  sick  of  it." 


16.  After  Screening  Unsightly  Objects 

"So  we  planted  a  border  of  trees  and  shrubs.    Four  years  later  we  had  this  garden  to  look  at.   This  sort  of  thing  can  often  he  done  for  about  $10."     (Signed)  Henry  M.  Dunlap, 
rruit-grower.  Savoy,  III. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


17.  A  Common  Way  of  Approaching  the  Farm 


To  reach  this  farmhouse  you  must  drive  past  a  pigsty,  corn-crib,  henhouse,  manure- 
pile,  and  clutter  of  farm  tools.  A  bad  approach  gives  a  bad  impression  of  the  farmer. 
Would  you  enjoy  dealing  with  this  man?  If  you  want  a  better  approach,  or  system 
of  drives,  send  us  a  sketch  drawn  to  scale,  and  we  will  make  suggestions  without 
charge. 

Consequently,  the  houses  look  dark,  damp,  and  gloomy  in  win- 
ter, while  in  summer  they  look  hot  and  stuffy.  (See  Fig.  19.) 
The  best  thing  is  to  cut  out  enough  of  the  old  trees  to  give  some 
light  and  air,  and  frame  a  view  of  the  house  from  the  road. 
(See  Fig.  20.) 

It  is  natural  that  we  should  like  to  have  near  us  the  trees 
we  love  best,  but  nearly  all  the  most  popular  trees  are  unfit 
for  framing  a  view  of  the  home.  Take,  for  instance,  those 
that  have  showy  flowers,  like  the  horse-chestnut,  the  locust, 
and  the  empress  tree,  or  paulownia;  they  are  forever  making 
a  litter  and  should  be  at  a  distance  from  the  house.  So, 
too,  with  the  quick-growers,  like  the  box  elder,  the  silver 
maple,  and  the  Carolina  or  Lombardy  poplar;  they  go  to 
wreck  in  storms  and  their  branches  fall  on  the  house.  Per- 
haps the  most  inappropriate  is  the  Norway  spruce.  Many  a 
house  has  suffered  a  depreciation  of  hundreds  of  dollars  owing 
to  dismal  Norway  spruces,  for  they  often  hasten  the  decay  of 
a  roof  by  giving  too  much  shade  and  moisture,  to  say 
nothing  of  making  a  home  look  melancholy,  instead  of  joyous. 


18.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Approaching  a  Farmhouse 


The  approach  to  William  Ritchie's  farm  at  Warrensburg,  111.,  is  a  double  row  of  black 
walnut  trees,  half  a  century  old,  lining  a  drive  an  eighth  of  a  mile  long.  The  seeds  cost 
nothing  and  the  trees  have  not  required  more  than  one  day's  work  a  year  for  one  man. 
Considering  merely  their  value  as  timber,  these  trees  would  probably  show  a  profit  of 
1,000  per  cent.  Have  a  simple,  dignified,  permanent  approach! 

The  sugar  and  Norway  maples  are  fine  trees,  but,  like  all 
round-headed  trees,  they  tend  to  hide  the  view  of  a  house 
more  quickly  than  is  commonly  realized. 

The  ideal  tree  for  framing  the  view  of  your  house  is  one 
that  will  give  enough  sunlight  and  enough  shade,  enough 
shelter  and  enough  cooling  breeze,  to  keep  a  family  healthy. 
The  only  tree  that  does  all  these  things  to  perfection  is  the 
American  elm — not  the  European.  (See  Fig.  24.)  Moreover, 
a  pair  of  elms  will  make  a  pointed  or  Gothic  arch,  suggesting 
high-roofed  cathedrals  and  God's  first  temples.  Unfortunately, 
the  enemies  of  the  elm  are  multiplying,  and  if  you  plant  elms 
you  must  be  willing  to  stand  the  expense  of  yearly  spraying 
when  the  time  comes.  Be  sure  to  specify  vase-formed  elms. 
They  are  the  only  ones  that  make  the  Gothic  arch,  and  are 
more  valuable  than  the  other  types  or  straggling  kinds. 

A  pair  of  oaks  (see  Fig.  23)  will  last  longer  than  elms  and 
cost  less  to  maintain.  The  oaks  excel  all  other  trees  in  nestling 
close  to  a  house  and  making  it  look  snug  and  comfortable. 
The  common  idea  that  oaks  are  slow-growers  and  hard  to  trans- 


19.  A  Poor  View  from  the  Road 


Many  farmhouses  are  hidden  by  trees,  especially  soft  maples 
and  Norway  spruces.  The  pioneers  used  to  plant  forest  trees 
in  straight  lines  around  a  house  for  windbreak  or  shade.  Now 
these  tall  trees  make  a  house  look  smaller  than  it  really  is; 
they  shade  the  house  too  much;  they  shut  out  the  summer 
breezes;  they  make  a  place  damp  in  winter. 


2O.  A  Good  View  from  the  Road 

This  home  picture  is  framed  by  trees.  It  will  be  greatly  improved  by  foundation  planting,  which  will  remove  the 
bare  look  at  the  base.  But  just  as  it  is,  it  gives  a  favorable  first  impression  to  thousands  of  passers-by.  Imagine  it 
surrounded  and  hidden  by  maples!  Any  real-estate  dealer  will  tell  you  that  a  good  view  from  the  road  makes  a 
property  more  valuable.  (Farmhouse  near  Griggsville,  Ijlinois.  Photograph  by  Prof.  B.  S.  Pickett.)  Give  every 
passer-by  a  glimpse  of  your  house — not  the  whole  thing,  just  a  glimpse.  If  your  house  is  hidden,  cut  out  enough 
trees  to  frame  a  view  ol  the  home. 


8 


THE     "ILLINOIS     WAY"     OF     BEAUTIFYING     THE     FARM 


21.  A  House 


Give  Your  Farmhouse  a  Background 


22.  A  Home 


Do  not  set  your  house  on  a  bare  hilltop,  where  it  is  seen  only  against  earth  or  sky,  for  it  will  look  new  and   raw.    Set  it  in  front  of  an  orchard  or  wood,  and  it  will  look  old  and 
mellow.    Make  your  house  blend  with  the  landscape — not  stand  out  in  gaudy  or  artificial  contrast.    (Bailey's  "Manual  of  Gardening.") 

plant  is  true  only  of  the  white  oak.  The  pin,  the  scarlet,  and 
the  red  oaks  are  easily  moved,  and  will  soon  overtake  maples 
and  other  trees  that  are  quicker  at  the  start.  They  will  last 
for  centuries  after  the  "quick-growers"  are  dead.  Plant  the 
trees  that  you  know  will  make  your  property  more  valuable 
every  year. 

A  one-story  farmhouse,  however,  will  eventually  be  dwarfed 
by  tall  trees,  and  look  pitifully  inadequate.  (See  Fig.  19.)  For 
small  farmhouses  it  is  better  to  use  trees  that  always  remain 
small,  like  the  flowering  dogwood  or  American  hawthorns — 


not  the  English.  Try  a  pair  of  these  in  preference  to  Magnolia 
Soulangeana,  because  they  are  native.  Or  try  a  pair  of  red 
cedars,  the  best  exclamation  points  we  can  buy  to  relieve  the 
flatness  of  the  prairie — far  better  than  the  Lombardy  poplar, 
because  evergreen  and  longer-lived. 

IMPROVE  THE   VIEW    FROM   YOUR   PORCH 

Views  have  a  cash  value  which  is  even  greater  than  that  of 
trees.     For  instance,  apartments  in  New  York  that  face  the 


23.  How  to  Make  the  Best  View  of  Your  Farmhouse 

Frame  your  home  picture  by  planting  trees  at  either  end  of  the  house  and  your  property  will  be  more  valuable.    (Long  Island  meeting-house  shaded  by  ancient  oaks.)    Oaks  are 
longer-lived  than  elms  and  cost  less  to  maintain.    "The  oaks  excel  all  other  trees  in  nestling  close  to  a  house  and  making  it  look  snug  and  comfortable." 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


Hudson  rent  for  about  20  per  cent  more  than  those  that  do  not 
face  the  Hudson.  In  the  aggregate,  the  lake  views  in  Chicago 
make  a  difference  of  millions  of  dollars  a  year  in  rents.  Every 
millionaire's  country  home  near  Lenox  and  Stockbridge,  Mass., 
has  been  bought  because  of  a  view.  Every  farm  that  faces  a 
river  in  Illinois  has  a  view,  the  value  of  which  can  be  appraised 
by  experts.  And  the  prairie  view,  which  was  formerly  con- 
sidered worthless,  now  has  a  value  that  is  recognized  by  the 
courts.  If  a  man  spoils  your  farm  view,  it  is  probable  that  you 
can  recover  damages. 

Consider,  therefore,  the  view  from  and  to  your  front  porch. 
(See  Figs.  25  to  28.)  The  ordinary  farmer  is  likely  to  spoil 
both  these  views  while  really  meaning  to  improve  his  place. 
For,  when  he  suddenly  awakes  to  the  fact  that  his  farm  is  bare 
and  ugly,  he  naturally  falls  an  easy  victim  to  the  tree  agent 
with  the  gaudy  colored  plates,  who  tempts  him  to  fill  his  front 
yard  with  showy,  foreign,  artificial  plants.  These  soon  hide  the 
view  to  and  from  the  front  door.  Now  the  farmer  has  a  great 
advantage  over  the  city  man  because  he  can  bring  into  this 
view  the  scenery  outside  his  front  yard.  In  the  city,  everything 
outside  a  man's  property  is  likely  to  be  ugly,  commonplace,  or 
distracting.  The  city  sights  invade  his  privacy,  make  his  place 
seem  smaller,  and  imprison  him  amid  artificialities.  Conse- 
quently, a  well-bred  city  man  will  often  plant  his  boundaries 
so  as  to  shut  out  everything  beyond  his  yard.  But  the  farmer 
can  leave  open  the  view  to  hills,  water,  church,  neighbor's 
house,  or  fields.  And  he  can  greatly  improve  these  views  by 


planting  trees  or  shrubs  near  the  front  porch  so  as  to  frame 
these  views.    (See  Figs.  29  to  32.) 

HOW   TO   MAKE   FLAT   PRAIRIE   INTERESTING 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  flat  land  must  be  unin- 
teresting. On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  vast  breadth  of  the  prairie 
and  of  the  sea  that  makes  them  such  sublime  symbols  of  the 
Infinite.  The  peculiar  glory  of  the  prairie  lies  in  the  vast  hori- 
zontal lines  of  land,  wood,  crops,  and  clouds — for  even  the 
fleecy  or  cumulus  clouds,  though  rounded  on  top,  are  flat  on  the 
bottom.  These  horizontal  lines  are  fundamental  in  the  new 
western  or  prairie  school  of  architecture  and  landscape  gar- 
dening. (See  cover.)  Our  great  opportunity  is  to  repeat  this 
fundamental  idea  of  the  prairie  in  a  dozen  subtle  ways,  "like 
a  faint  and  broken  echo,"  as  Ruskin  says. 

The  most  valuable  plants  for  framing  prairie  views  are  the 
western  hawthorns  and  crab-apples,  for  their  uncountable 
branches  repeat  endlessly  on  a  small  scale  the  peculiar  beauty 
of  the  prairie.  That  is  why  our  great  landscape  gardeners, 
like  Simonds  and  Jensen,  have  moved  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  hawthorns  from  farm  pastures  to  the  estates  of  million- 
aires. Rich  men  will  often  pay  $50  to  $60  for  a  pair  of  haw- 
thorns, such  as  the  Illinois  farmer  can  move  from  his  own 
pasture  at  no  cash  outlay.  Nursery-grown  hawthorns  are 
costly,  because  slow-growing,  and  a  pair  of  cockspur  thorns 
7  feet  high  costs  $16.  Why  not  place  a  pair  of  hawthorns  beside 


24.  Why  Not  Frame  the  View  of  Your  House  with  a  Pair  of  Elms? 

The  vase-formed  type  of  American  elm  is  the  most  beautiful.    A  pair  of  vase-formed  elms  will  make  a  finer  arch  than  this — higher,  and  more  pointed,  like  a  cathedral. 


10 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


-  - 


25.  This  front  yard  is  full  of  fancy  trees  and  "quick-growers,"  scattered  everywhere 
to  make  the  biggest  show. 

your  front  porch  or  living-room  window?  They  are  rather  hard 
to  move,  and  one  in  four  may  die,  but  try  again.  Two  full- 
grown  hawthorns  placed  just  outside  your  dining-room  window 
may  add  $100  to  the  salable  value  of  your  property,  because 
they  will  make  your  cornfields  look  twice  as  beautiful  every 
time  you  sit  down  to  eat  or  rest.  Be  sure  to  get  one  with  the 
horizontal  branching  very  pronounced,  for  some  do  not  have  it. 
Avoid  the  English  hawthorn,  which  is  not  adapted  to 
America,  and  the  double  red-flowered  hawthorns,  which  are 
gaudy  and  artificial  compared  with  our  western  species,  e.g., 
the  cockspur  thorn  (Cratasgus  Crus-galli),  the  dotted  haw  (C. 
punctata),  the  waxy  thorn  (C.  pruinosa),  Eggert's  thorn  (C. 
coccmoides),  and  the  parsley  haw  (C.  apiifolia).  The  pear 
thorn  (C.  tomentosa)  sometimes  has  ascending  branches,  some- 
times horizontal.  Elsewhere  in  this  circular  are  shown  other 
ways  of  repeating  the  prairie  lines  by  means  of  shrubs  and 
flowers. 

FOUNDATION    PLANTING 

No  money  that  you  can  invest  in  planting  will  add  so  much 
to  the  salability  of  your  property  as  money  spent  to  hide  the 
foundations  of  your  house.  People  commonly  plant  flowers 
against  foundations,  but  flowers  die  down  in  winter  and  con- 
sequently for  half  the  year  they  cannot  hide  the  foundations. 
Even  at  their  best,  flowers  are  too  weak  to  harmonize  a  house 


The  Gaudy  Style  of  Planting  Hides  the  View  from  the  House 


26.   Here  is  the   beautiful  farm  view  that  is  completely  hidden  from  the   front  porch 
of  Fig.  25.    Have  an  open  lawn  toward  the  best  views  of  your  farm. 

with  nature.  It  takes  shrubs  and  permanent  vines  to  do  that. 
And  it  is  a  big  thing  to  accomplish,  for  a  house  without  founda- 
tion planting  cannot  possibly  look  at  home  amid  its  surround- 
ings; it  looks  bare,  ugly,  uncomfortable.  The  shrubs  must 
not  grow  so  high  as  to  interfere  with  the  windows,  and  they 
must  be  compact,  not  sprawling  or  leggy;  for  this  is  the  one 
place  on  the  farm  where  something  like  dress  parade  is  desira- 
ble. For  practical  suggestions,  see  Figs.  33  to  40. 

VINES  TO  MAKE  YOUR  PLACE  LOOK 
"DIFFERENT" 

The  costliest  and  least  satisfactory  way  to  make  your 
home  look  "different"  is  to  load  the  house  with  ornamentation. 
The  next  poorest  bargain  is  to  scatter  all  over  your  lawn  flashy 
trees  and  shrubs,  especially  the  cut-leaved,  weeping,  and 
variegated  kinds,  for  this  will  make  your  place  look  just  like 
every  beginner's  in  every  city  the  world  over.  The  best  way  to 
put  personality  and  brilliancy  and  color  into  home  grounds  is 
to  have  a  different  set  of  vines  for  every  house.  One  place  will 
have  Virginia  creeper  (Fig.  45),  trumpet  honeysuckle  (Fig.  66), 
and  bittersweet  (Fig.  47).  The  next  place  will  have  wild  grape, 
wild  clematis,  and  Illinois  rose.  Both  will  be  beautiful  the  year 
round,  and  neither  need  cost  a  cent  because  you  can  dig  the 
plants  from  the  open.  While  you  are  waiting  for  the  permanent 


The  Gaudy  Style  also  Spoils  the  View  toward  the  House. 

27.  This  yard  is  crowded  with  showy,  costly,  foreign  plants.    But  the  owner  will  never  28.  This  yard  has  an  open  center,  bordered  by  groups  of  native  trees.     If  the  owner 

get  his  money  back.    For  the  trees  hide  the  views  to  and  from  the  house,  and  the  lawn  is  ever  wants  to  sell,  his  property  will  be  more  salable  and  the  old  trees  will  add  considerably 

reduced  to  nothing.    The  gaudy  style  kills  two  views  with  one  Colorado  blue  spruce.  to  its  cash  value. 


THE    "ILLINOIS     WAY"     OF     BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


11 


29.  We  Need  "Accent"  in  Our  Prairie  Views 

To  an  Illinois  farmer  the  most  beautiful  crop  in  the  world  is  corn.  But  people  complain 
that  everything  about  the  prairie  gets  monotonous.  They  want  something  different  from 
the  universal  flatness,  especially  during  the  winter.  Of  course,  the  prairie  is  beautiful  at 
sunrise  and  sunset,  but  why  not  all  day  and  every  day? 

vines  to  grow,  you  can  cover  your  porch  the  first  year,  without 
spending  a  cent,  by  sowing  seeds  of  wild  cucumber  vine  or 
collecting  seeds  of  morning-glory  in  regions  where  it  runs  wild. 
In  the  garden  cities  of  England,  such  as  Bourn ville  and  Letch- 
worth,  which  are  the  most  beautiful  of  their  kind  in  the  world, 
many  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  saved  by  building  very 
plain  houses,  and  providing  different  sets  of  vines  for  every 
house. 

There  is  one  vine  that  we  should  like  to  see  on  every  porch 
in  the  "Prairie  State,"  viz.,  the  Illinois  or  prairie  rose.  (See  Figs. 
41  to  44.)  There  is  little  danger  of  overdoing  the  matter, 
because  this  plant  is  now  available  in  thirty-nine  varieties, 
having  different  colors  and  degrees  of  fulness. 

And  there  is  one  evergreen  vine  that  ought  to  be  planted 
on  every  brick  and  stone  house  in  America  where  English  ivy 
is  not  hardy.  This  is  the  evergreen  bittersweet  (see  Fig.  48) — 
not  the  common  climbing  euonymous  (Euonymus  radicans), 
for  that  has  a  taint  of  variegation,  but  the  round-leaved 
variety,  which  the  nurserymen  call  vegetus.  It  is  free  trom  the 


30.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Accenting  Prairie  Views 


Your  cornfield  will  look  twice  as  beautiful  if  seen  through  a  pair  of  Illinois  red  cedars 
jlanted  beside  your  front  porch.  They  will  frame  not  only  this  view,  but  the  view  of  your 
rcouse  from  the  road.  They  are  far  superior  to  Lombardy  poplars  because  they  are  long- 
lived  and  evergreen.  They  harmonize  with  the  prairie  by  contrast.  The  prairie  suggests 
'infinite  breadth.  The  pointed  cedars  are  full  of  aspiration. 


Pi 
hi 


weakness  and  nuisance  of  producing  white  leaves,  and  years 
before  the  ordinary  type  it  bears  red  fruits  about  the  size  of 
holly  berries,  which  are  brilliant  all  winter. 

THE   LAWN 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  landscape  gardening  that 
the  open  lawn,  with  shrubbery  grouped  at  the  sides  (see  Fig. 
50),  is  more  valuable  than  a  lawn  peppered  with  plants,  even 
if  they  are  rare  and  costly.  (See  Fig.  49.)  There  is  no  doubt 
that  you  can  make  every  dollar  stand  on  edge  and  scream 
louder  if  you  scatter  plants  over  your  lawn,  but  you  cannot 
make  a  beautiful  home  picture  in  that  way.  The  gaudy  style 
of  planting,  which  will  always  appeal  strongly  to  a  beginner 
until  the  crack  of  doom,  is  to  scatter  over  the  lawn  foreign 
and  artificial  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  (see  Fig.  51),  such  as 
golden-leaved  elder,  purple-leaved  plum,  blue  Colorado  spruce, 
magenta  Anthony  Waterer  spirea,  Kilmarnock  weeping  wil- 
low, variegated  dogwood,  grotesque  weeping  spruces,  shredded 


31.  Before  Framing  the  View  from  Your  Dining-room 

The  broad,  unbroken  prairie  does  not  make  a  picture.    No  artist  would  care  to  paint  it. 
It  lacks  interest  and  has  no  frame.    This  is  not  a  picture;  s~  "~  '  '     '  in. 

:..    _l »L  _    I .       _l I I   • I    _f  _•____     .1.1 


32.  After  Framing  the  View  from  Your  Dining-room 

Your  plowed  fields  will  look  twice  as  beautiful  if  seen  through  a  pair  of  Illinois  haw- 


r ;  it  is  merely  a  photograph.    But  thorns.    They  illustrate  the  law  of  repetition,  one  of  the  ten  laws  which,  as  Ruskin  tells 

it  shows  the  bare,  cheerless  kind  of  view  that  depresses  many  families  at  their  meals,  and  us   in   his  "Elements  of  Composition,"  are  fundamental  in  al!  the  fine  arts.     For  their 

makes  farmers'  wives  go  insane  from  loneliness  and  monotony.    Some  little  portion  of  your  horizontal  branches  repeat  many  times,  on  a  small  scale,  the  great  horizontal  lines  of  land, 

big  view  has  warm  human  interest  and  beauty.    You  can  frame  that  and  shut  out  the  rest!  woods,  crops,  and  clouds,  whicn  are  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  prairie. 


12 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


33.  Before  Planting  against  the  Foundations 


See  how  bare  a  new  house  always  looks!  It  is  because  the  foundation  is  not  hidden. 
There  is  nothing  to  soften  the  hardness  of  brick  and  stone — nothing  to  connect  architecture 
and  Nature.  A  farmhouse  cannot  look  at  home  without  foundation  planting. 

soft  maples,  and  those  "vegetable  exclamation  marks" — the 
Lombardy  poplars.  But  this  is  like  gingerbread  ornamenta- 
tion and  flashy  paint  on  a  house — all  for  show,  and  without 
any  appropriateness  to  the  country.  The  better  way  is  to  keep 
the  center  of  the  lawn  open.  (See  Fig.  52.)  Moreover,  the 
open  lawn  costs  less  to  maintain,  since  you  can  mow  it  by 
horse-power,  or,  at  any  rate,  without  forever  dodging  around 
trees  and  bushes.  The  most  artistic  things  are  those  which 
cost  the  least  to  maintain  in  the  long  run. 

The  worst  bargain  you  can  make  is  to  get  a  "cheap"  lawn, 
for  it  means  yearly  worry  and  expense.  It  is  a  popular  fal- 
lacy that  the  cheapest  way  to  cover  ground  is  to  sow  it  with 
grass.  Shrubs  will  cover  the  same  area  at  less  cost  in  the 
long  run,  since  they  are  cheaper  to  maintain.  The  only  true 
economy  in  lawn-making  is  to  spare  no  expense  in  plowing, 
preparing,  and  feeding  the  soil  once  for  all  at  the  start,  instead 
of  spending  a  lot  of  money  every  year  of  your  life  for  fertilizers 
and  weed-killers.  The  making  of  a  lawn  is  usually  the  most. 


34.  After  Planting  against  the  Foundations 

Ten  dollars  will  usually  supply  all  the  permanent  plants  needed  for  this  purpose,  and  $10 
spent  on  foundation  planting  will  go  farther  than  $50  scattered  over  the  lawn.  (Mr. 
Moeller,  Dccatur.) 

expensive  item  of  ornamental  planting,  but  if  it  is  well  done 
it  gives  the  deepest  satisfaction  of  all,  for  nothing  else  does  so 
much  to  make  a  farmhouse  look  happy.  The  lawn  is  the  can- 
vas on  which  the  home  picture  is  painted.  "Lawns  and  How 
to  Grow  Them,"  by  Barren,  is  a  book  that  may  save  you 
its  cost  many  times  on  fertilizers,  labor,  and  seeds.  You  can 
get  a  free  bulletin  on  lawns  by  writing  to  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  Farmers' 
Bulletin  195. 

BORDERS  ARE  BETTER  THAN  BEDS 

The  best  way  to  decorate  your  lawn  is  to  have  irregular 
borders  of  trees  and  shrubbery  at  the  sides,  not  flower-beds  in 
the  middle.  A  flower-bed  will  give  you  the  smallest  return 
from  your  effort  because  it  is  a  mud-bank  half  the  year;  because 
the  expense  must  be  renewed  every  season;  because  it  makes  the 
lawn  look  smaller;  and  because  you  have  to  attend  to  it  during 


35.  The  Most  Popular  Shrub  for  Foundation  Planting 


Van  Houtte's  spirea,  famous  for  its  arching  stems,  lined  with  flat  clusters  of  white 
flowers  in  May.  Height  about  5  feet.  This  is  the  best  of  the  spireas,  and  should  not  be  con- 
fused with  the  bridal  wreath,  which  is  a  double  variety  of  S.  prunifolia.  Have  one  group  of 
Van  Houtte's  spirea,  but  do  not  surround  your  house  with  it,  as  many  do.  Moreover,  the 
spireas  get  seedy  after  blooming,  and  have  no  winter  value.  It  is  better  to  have  year-round 
beauty  and  interest.  (H.  J.  Sconce,  Sidell,  III.) 


36.  The  Best  Shrub  for  Foundation   Planting 

The  Japanese  barberry  (Berberis  Thunbergii)  is  perfect  for  a  country  that  cannot  have 
rhododendrons.  Its  arching  stems  are  beautiful  even  when  leafless.  The  foliage  turns 
scarlet  in  autumn  and  the  red  berries  are  attractive  all  winter.  Nearly  all  other  shrubs  are 
bare  at  the  base,  but  the  Japanese  barberry  hides  the  ground  completely.  It  grows  slowly 
and  usually  attains  j  feet,  but  may  finally  reach  5  or  6  feet.  Everybody  plants  these  two 
bushes.  If  you  want  something  different,  there  are  fifty  shrubs  native  to  Illinois. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


13 


37-38.  The  Downy-leaved  Arrow-wood  for  Foundations  (Viburnum  pubescens) 

"It  bears  more  flowers  than  any  other  viburnum,"  says  Professor  Sargent.  Blooms  in  June.  The  bluish  black  berries  are  attractive  from  August  to  December.  Autumn  foliage 
almost  black.  This  shrub  grows  about  5  feet  high  and  is  native  to  Illinois.  Why  not  plant  these  bushes  beneath  your  bedroom  window  and  nave  a  thousand  delicate  reminders 
of  the  grandeur  of  the  prairie? 


your  rush  season,  viz.,  the  spring.  On  the  other  hand,  a  good 
border  will  give  you  flowers  and  beauty  the  year  round;  it  costs 
less  to  maintain;  it  makes  your  lawn  look  twice  as  beautiful, 
because  it  provides  a  frame;  and  it  has  no  rush  season,  since 
you  can  plant  many  of  these  shrubs  with  safety  in  the  fall. 


The  main  item  of  work  is  pruning,  and  this  does  not  come  all 
at  once  in  early  spring,  as  many  people  imagine,  but  is  done  a 
little  at  a  time  after  each  species  blooms.  Thousands  of  city 
people  spoil  their  bushes  every  March  by  allowing  shrub 
butchers,  or  fake  gardeners,  to  trim  every  bush  into  a  ball. 


39—40.  The   Maple-leaved   Arrow-wood   for   Foundations   (Viburnum   acerifolium) 

This  resembles  the  cranberry  tree  in  having  three-fingered  leaves,  but  the  berries,  instead  of  red,  are  bluish  black,  also  the  bush  is  low-growing — rarely  over  5  feet  high.  The 
autumn  foliage  is  bright  red.  It  grows  in  rather  dry  woods.  Plant  a  group  on  the  shady  side  of  your  house.  Farmers  of  Illinois,  why  should  you  buy  foreign  and  artificial  shrubs 
when  you  can  have  better  ones  for  nothing?  You  do  not  need  to  be  botanists;  all  you  need  is  to  open  your  eyes  to  the  beauties  of  common  things  all  about  you! 


* 


14 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


The  Illinois  Rose  for  Foundation  Planting 

Far  better  against  the  house  than  garden  roses.  More 
<x>mpact,  freer  from  insects  and  diseases,  and  does  well  even 
in  poor  soil.  Flowers  July;  fruits  red  until  Christmas;  stems 
red  all  winter;  foliage  attractive  the  whole  crowing  season. 
Let  us  plant  one  Illinois  rose  in  front  of  every  home  in  Illinois! 

(See  Fig.  53.)  Let  your  bushes  grow  naturally.  (See  Fig.  54.) 
They  cost  less  to  care  for  and  look  better.  To  learn  about 
pruning,  send  to  Washington  for  Farmers'  Bulletin  181,  which 
is  free. 

BOUNDARY   PLANTING 

Can't  you  plant  the  boundaries  of  your  farmstead  in  such  a 
way  that  the  same  trees  and  shrubs  will  do  four  jobs?  First, 
provide  windbreaks;  second,  screen  unsightly  objects;  third, 
frame  the  views  from  porch  and 


living-room;    fourth,    provide 
year-round  interest  and  beauty. 


42.  The   Illinois  Rose  for  Porch   Decoration 

This  country  home  has  privacy  enough  without  training  the  roses  uo  to  hide  the  porch.  The  object  here  is  to  decorate 
the  porch,  and  this  shows  what  kind  of  garland  you  can  make  with  the  Illinois  or  prairie  rose  (Rosa  setigera)  The  bushes 
in  the  foreground  are  rhododendrons,  which  are  impractical  for  Illinois,  but  we  can  get  a  unique  effect  by  replacing  them 
with  Illinois  roses.  Let  most  of  them  make  compact  bushes  to  hide  the  foundation,  and  train  a  few  to  make  garlands.  Why 
not  a  whole  porch,  now  and  then,  planted  exclusively  or  chiefly  with  Illinois  roses? 

EVERY   TREE   WORTH    ONE  DOLLAR   A 
SQUARE    INCH 

The  Illinois  farmer  is  often  tempted  to  cut  down  the  big 
trees  in  his  pasture  because  they  rob  his  crops  of  food  and 
moisture.  But  even  if  a  tree  takes  $15  a  year  out  of  your 
pockets,  is  it  not  worth  the  money  in  the  enjoyment  your 
family  can  get  out  of  it,  to  say  nothing  of  the  shade  it  gives  to 
cattle?  The  surest  way  to  make  your  children  hate  the  farm 

is  to  cut  down  a  century-old 


A  Deadly  Parallel 


A   HEDGE 


A    BORDER 


oak  which  they  love.  According 
to  the  Hartford  standard,  every 


If  so,    your  property  will   in-     sfcor,  seasm  0/ 6eau(y._Two  weeks     Beautiful  the  year  rouna'.-FIowers     tree  is  T>rth  $i  a  square  inch 


crease  yearly  in  value  far  more 
than  if  you  merely  plant  a 
hedge,  especially  privet. 


Loo 


43.  The  Illinois  Rose  for  House  Walls 

It  blooms  in  July,  after  most  of  the  Ramblers  are  cone, 
and  lasts  nearly  three  weeks,  opening  a  few  flowers  daily. 
1  he  two  colors  on  the  same  vine  are  characteristic,  th< 


new  blossoms  being  deep  rose  and  the  old  ones  nearly 
white.  This  prairie  rose  (Rosa  setigera)  offers  a  permanent 
and  cheap  way  of  covering  broad  expanses  of  common- 
place or  ugly  wall.  To  train  it  simply  tack  a  piece  of  cloth 
over  each  shoot.  This  will  not  rot  wood,  make  a  house 
damp,  or  shelter  dozens  of  sparrows.  When  the  house 
needs  painting  you  can  lay  down  the  stems  and  replace 
them  without  damage. 


of  bloom  or  none,  and  usually  no 
beauty  during  winter — nearly 
half  the  year. 

Little  variety. — A  hedge 
contains     only     one 
kind    of    plant    and 
ets     monotonous. 
>oks    about     the 
same     month     after 
month.     No    new 
flowers    or     interest 
every  day. 

Rush  work. — Has  to  be 
trimmed  two  or  three 
times  a  year,  often 
when  necessary  work 
is  crowding. 
Artificial.  —  Makes  a 
farmhouse  contrast 
painfully  with  the 
surrounding  coun- 
try. 

Pretentious. — Too 
often  it  is  merely 
showy,  spectacular, 
stiff,  '  'done  for 
effect,"  insincere. 
Costs  more  in  the  end. — 
Privet  is  cheaper  at 
the  start,  but  grows 
too  fast,  and  there- 
fore costs  more  to 
maintain. 


from  April  to  October.    Brightly 
colored    berries    and    twigs    from 
October  to  April. 
Great    variety.  —  Many 
kinds  of  shrubs,  dif- 
fering   in    season    of 
bloom,  color  and  size 
of  flowers,  fragrance, 
height  of  bush,  leaf, 
autumn    color,    and 
fruit. 

Pleasant  work. — Prune 

a   little   at    a    time, 

when     the    shrubs 

bloom  or  after — not 

before,  as  a  rule. 
More  natural. — Makes 

a    farmhouse    blend 

with    the    surround- 
ing country. 


simply  for  shade  and  beauty. 

It  will  pay  you  to  figure  the 
value  of  the  biggest  tree  in  your 


Self-respecting. — Makes 
a  farmhouse  look 
like  a  country  home 
— not  a  feeble  imita- 
tion of  the  city. 

Costs  less  in  the  end. — 
No  bill  for  trimming 
three  times  a  year  for 
the  next  fifty  years. 
No  failures  to  re- 
placewith  full-grown 
plants  at  fancy  prices 

MORAL. — Plant  informal  borders  of 
trees  and  shrubs  at  the  boundaries 
oj  your  property — not  hedges. 


44.  Every  Illinoisan  Should  Know  the  Illinois  Rose 


The  Illinois,  or  prairie  rose  (Rosa  setigera),  is  a  climber 
with  deep  rose-colored,  single  flowers  2'  2  inches  across,  with 
4  to  ?  flowers  in  a  cluster.    It  blooms  late  in  June  or  July,  a 
fortnight  after  garden  roses  are  gone.    It  is  the  hardiest  and 
most  adaptable  of  all  roses.    The  bush  grows  about  6  fee 
high.     How  to  know  it.    It  is  the  only  climbing  rose  nativ 
to  America,  and  the  only  wild  rose  that  commonly  has  thre 
leaflets.    But   the  surest  character  is  in   the  pistil.    Othe 
wijd  roses  have  separate  styles,  like  your  Fingers,  but  th 
Illinois  rose  has  the  styles  grown  together   into  a  column, 
like  your  fist.    Thirty-nine  varieties  arc  in  cultivation. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


15 


45.  Virginia  creeper  will  keep  a  porch  shady  and  cool 
throughout  the  long,  hot  summers  of  the  corn-belt.  _On 
brick  and  stone  use  Engelmarm's  ivy,  instead  of  Japan  ivy. 
It  is  a  self-supporting  woodbine. 


46.  Crimson  Rambler  Rose  at  Princeton,  111. 

Let  every  house  have  a  different  set  of  vines.     It  is  the  best  and  cheapest  way  to  make  a  house  look  "different" — 
better  than  meaningless  ornamentation  or  gaudy  paint.    (Home  of  L.  R.  Bryant.)    See  page  10,  paragraph  on  "Vines." 


lawn  or  pasture.  Measure  the  circumference  of  the  trunk  three 
feet  above  ground  and  reduce  to  inches.  Multiply  this  cir- 
cumference by  itself  and  divide  by  12.56  (which  is  4x3.14), 
and  you  will  have  the  area  in  square  inches,  or  the  number  of 
dollars  the  tree  is  worth  according  to  the  Hartford  standard. 
Doubtless  a  farm  tree  will  not  add  so  much  to  the  cash  value 
of  property  as  a  city  tree,  but,  even  if  it  is  worth  only  half  as 
much,  a  tree  six  feet  in  circumference  is  worth  §206.37  for  beauty 
alone.  Make  an  inventory  of  your  most  valuable  trees  and,  if 
you  sell  any  or  all  of  your  farm,  see  that  you  get  their  value ! 
Surely,  when  you  realize  the  value  of  old  trees,  you  will  not 
let  them  die  of  neglect !  (See  Figs.  57  and  58.) 

PLANT   PERMANENT  TREES— NOT 
"QUICK-GROWERS" 

We  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  plant  only  "quick-growers," 
for  they  are  merely  temporary.  The  pioneers  had  a  legitimate 
excuse  for  planting  box  elder,  silver  maple,  and  poplars,  for 


they  needed  windbreaks  without  delay.  But  quick-growers 
are  nearly  always  a  bad  bargain;  they  are  soft- wooded,  and 
therefore  easily  broken  by  storms,  after  which  they  fall  an  easy 
prey  to  insects  and  diseases.  Quick-growers  are  the  cheapest 
at  the  start,  but  the  dearest  in  the  end,  because  they  cost  more 
to  maintain.  Just  when  you  need  them  most  they  fail  you, 
and  the  cost  of  cutting  down  big  trees  is  very  heavy.  The  pin, 
the  red,  and  the  scarlet  oaks  will  overtake  most  of  these  quick- 
growers  in  twenty  years,  and  they  will  last  for  centuries  after 
the  quick-growers  are  dead.  Temporary  trees  get  less  valuable 
every  year  after  they  reach  a  good  size,  while  permanent  trees 
grow  more  valuable.  (See  Figs.  59  and  60.)  If  you  want  the 
greatest  increase  of  value  for  your  property,  plant  permanent 
trees,  like  the  tulip  tree,  the  sugar  maple,  the  sweet  gum,  the 
white  ash,  and,  above  all,  the  oaks.  Quick  growers  often  kill 
sales  of  property  because  prospective  purchasers  are  getting 
to  hate  temporary  trees.  In  Cleveland,  it  is  against  the  law  to 
plant  poplars.  Can't  you  solve  your  shade  problem  without 
them,  e.g.,  by  means  of  a  screened  porch  or  summer-house? 


47.  The  deciduous  bittersweet  (Celastrus  scandens),  a  twiner  with  red  berries  which 
are  attractive  all  winter.  Native  to  Illinois.  This  one  vine,  planted  by  the  million,  would 
change  Illinois  from  an  ugly  country  in  winter  to  a  beautiful  one.  Who  will  do  it? 


48.  The  evergreen  bittersweet  (Euonymus  radicans),  the  only  hardy  evergreen  climber. 
It  succeeds  where  English  ivy  fails.  The  best  variety  is  vegctus,  which  saves  years  of  waiting 
for  the  red  berries  that  are  attractive  all  winter.  Grow  it  on  stone  or  brick — not  wood. 


16 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


49.  The  Gaudy  Style  of  Lawn  Costs  More  to  Maintain 


To  say  nothing  of  its  bad  taste!    It  takes  more  hand  work  to  cut  the  grass  around  It  can  be  mowed  by  horse-power,  and   in  the  country   mowing  need  not  be  do 

flower-beds  and  specimen  plants  that  are  scattered  over  the  lawn.    The  most  expensive        often  as  in  the  city.     The  open    lawn  is  simpler,   more  dignified,   more  restful,  and 


50.  The  Open  Lawn  Costs  Less  to  Maintain 

It  can  be  mowed  by  horse-power,  and   in  the  country   mowing  need  not  be  done  so 


item  in  gardening  is  labor. 

FLOWER-GARDENS   THAT   REALLY   FIT  THE 
ILLINOIS  FARM 

The  kind  of  flower-garden  for  which  every  farmer's  wife 
secretly  yearns  is  the  kind  her  great-grandmother  had — the 
Colonial  garden,  with  box-edged  beds  filled  with  roses  and 
annual  flowers.  (See  Fig.  61.)  The  boxwood  is  not  hardy  in 
Illinois,  and  comparatively  few  large,  double  roses  are  thor- 
oughly satisfactory  here.  The  farmer's  wife  cannot  find  an 
hour  a  day  for  her  flowers,  and  she  cannot  find  anyone  to  spade 
a  flower-garden  in  the  spring.  But  there  are  certain  fundamen- 
tal needs  which  people  always  have  felt  for  flowers,  and  always 
must  gratify.  The  heart  cries  out  for  these  things,  and  the 
cry  cannot  be  stifled.  These  fundamental  flower  needs  are 
about  eight  in  number:  (i)  Every  mother  wants  to  grow  the 
famous  old  flowers  that  everybody  has  always  known  and 
loved.  (2)  Every  woman  that  ever  lived  wants  cut-flowers 
in  her  house.  (3)  Every  family  has  some  member  that  loves 
birds,  and  wishes  to  bring  their  song,  flight,  and  color  nearer 
to  the  house.  (4)  All  parents  want  their  children  to  learn 
independence,  and  to  love  the  country  and  wish  to  stay  there. 
(5)  Every  civilized  being  needs  a  chance  to  get  back  to  nature 
— some  playground,  picnic  spot,  or  bit  of  wildness.  (6)  Every 
dweller  on  the  prairie  knows  that  about  half  the  year  is  leafless, 
and  dumbly  feels  the  need  of  winter  comfort  and  cheer.  (7) 
Every  farmer  has  at  least  a  rudimentary  admiration  for  old 
trees  and  other  things  that  grow  more  precious  every  year. 
(8)  Every  citizen  of  Illinois  is  proud  of  his  state,  takes  an 
interest  in  his  state  flower,  and  is  glad  of  every  chance  to  show 
an  honest  state  pride  based  upon  real  achievements.  Now  let 


com 
moi 
repose 


51.  The  Gaudy  Way  of  Using  "Horticultural  Varieties" 

Horticultural  varieties  are  cut-leaved,  weeping,  and  variegated  trees  and  shrubs.    The 


nmon  way  is  to  scatter  ^them  over  a  lawn.  This  system  makes  the  biggest  show  for  the 
>ney,  but  it  spoils  the  view  of  house  and  lawn  and  destroys  all  simplicity,  dignity,  and 
tose.  Here  we  have  weeping  beech,  weeping  elm,  and  purple  maples.  These  particular 
.pics  are  comparatively  mild  because  they  turn  green  in  summer.  The  worst  offenders 
against  good  taste  are  purple  barberry,  purple  plum  (Prunus  Pissardi),  and  golden  cider. 


appropriate  to  the  country.    Without  it  you  cannot  frame  a  good  view  of  your  home. 

us  see  how  all  these  fundamental  needs  can  be  satisfied  by 
up-to-date  flower-gardens  that  are  not  total  misfits,  like  the 
Colonial  garden,  but  are  really  adapted  to  the  Illinois  climate, 
soil,  labor,  and  farm  life. 


1.    A  Flower-Garden  for  the  Illinois  Farmer's  Wife 

We  believe  that  it  is  impractical  for  the  farmer's  wife  to  have 
a  separate  flower-garden  at  the  present  time.  But  she  can  make 
her  whole  place  a  garden  by  planning  to  beautify  her  farm  in 
the  "Illinois  way."  She  will  have  all  the  flowers  she  most  de- 
sires, but  they  will  not  be  in  a  separate  garden;  each  will  be 
in  the  place  where  it  is  most  needed  and  can  be  cared  for  at 
the  least  expense.  For  example,  her  lilacs,  sweet  shrub, 
weigela,  golden  bells,  and  Tartarian  honeysuckle  will  not  be 
in  the  garden,  but  in  the  borders  of  the  lawn.  Her  mock 
orange  may  hide  the  outbuildings.  Her  spirea,  deutzia,  and 
barberry  will  not  be  in  a  neglected  garden,  but  against  the 


52.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Using  Horticultural  Varieties 


Here  are  fancy  varieties  enough  for  anyone.  They  constitute  less  than  $  percent  of  the 
planting,  yet  beginners  often  use  95  per  cent  fancy  material.  The  "Illinois  way"  is  to  have 
05  per  cent  of  the  planting  composed  of  trees  and  shrubs  native  to  Illinois.  (Signed) 
Wm.  C.  Egan,  Highland  Park,  HI.  This  is  the  most  famous  one-acre  place  in  the  West. 
It  has  been  visitea  by  thousands  of  home-builders  and  has  persuaded  many  to  have  open- 
centered  lawns,  with  massed  planting  at  the  sides. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF     BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


17 


53.  The  Wrong  Way  of  Treating  a  Border 


54.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Treating  a  Border 


"Every  spring,  millions  of  bushes  are  ruined  by  'fake  gardeners/  whose  only  idea  of  Allow  every  shrub  to  develop  to  the  utmost  its  peculiar  beauty.    The  most  flowers  are 

'pruning*  is  to  trim  every  bush  into  a  ball."    (See  page  13.)     By  this  system  they  rob  you        borne  on  young  wood — not  old;  therefore,  cut  out  some  old  stems  every  year  right  to  the 
of  many  flowers,  and  make_  all  shrubs  look  alike.    Do  not  let  these  ignoramuses  trim  your        ground.    Prune  after  flowering — not  before.    Try  this  system.   Get  a  pair  of  shears  and  do 


ny  flowers,  l 
elms  into  balls.    (From  Bailey's  "Manual  of  Gardening.") 

foundations  of  her  house.  Her  perennial  flowers,  such  as  iris, 
peony,  phlox,  and  chrysanthemum  will  not  perish  of  thirst  in 
a  distant  garden,  but  bloom  beneath  the  kitchen  window, 
where  they  can  be  watered  with  the  least  effort.  And  her  fa- 
vorite annuals,  such  as  asters,  calliopsis,  cosmos,  marigold, 
mignonette,  petunias,  snapdragons,  stocks,  verbenas,  and  zin- 
nias will  no  longer  be  raised  by  the  pottering,  back-breaking 
method  of  seed-bed  and  transplanting,  but  will  be  sown  in 
long  rows,  like  vegetables,  and  cultivated  by  the  horses  on 
their  way  to  the  fields.  Some  of  the  old  sentiment  will  be 
gone,  but  she  will .  have  more  flowers  at  less  cost,  by  growing 
them  in  simple,  wholesale  ways. 

2.   More  Cut-Flowers  at  Less  Cost 

We  have  just  indicated  how  this  can  be  accomplished  with 
the  famous  old  garden  flowers.  Another  way  is  to  cut  three-  or 
four-foot  sprays  of  flowering  shrubs,  bring  them  into  the  house, 
and  stand  them  in 
umbrella  jars.  In- 
deed, the  best  way 
to  prune  shrubs, 
according  to  some 
gardeners,  is  to 
prune  them  while 
they  are  in  bloom. 
It  would  mar  a 
flower-garden  to  re- 
move these  long 
sprays,  but  in  an 
informal  border  on 
the  lawn  they  never 
will  be  missed.  A 
third  way  to  have 
plenty  of  cut-flow- 
ers without  cost  is 
to  gather  the  com- 
mon roadside  flow- 
ers and  weeds,  e.g., 
the  queen's  lace 
handkerchief,  yar- 
row, bouncing  bet, 


sunflower  (Fig.  62), 
brown-eyed  susan, 
goldenrod,  and 
asters.  The  com- 


a  little  at  a  time.    No  rush  season.    (Henry  M.  Dunlap,  Savoy,  III.) 

mon  flowers  of  the  fields,  such  as  red  and  crimson  clover,  ought 
to  be  brought  into  the  house;  it  is  not  enough  to  see  them 
outdoors.  Try  it  and  be  convinced.  And  do  not  buy  any  fancy 
vases  loaded  with  ornament  or  made  of  many  strong  colors.  It 
is  a  waste  of  money,  for  flowers  will  not  look  well  in  such 
things.  Use  simple  jugs  and  jars— whatever  you  have. 

3.   Children's  Gardens  That  Will  Make  Strong  Characters 

Eight  Iowa  children  who  helped  one  another  through  col- 
lege began  their  financial  career  by  cultivating  a  strawberry 
bed.  Why  not  start  your  children  in  business  this  spring  with 
a  dollar's  worth  of  gladiolus  bulbs?  (See  Fig.  63.)  They  can 
sell  the  flowers  without  harming  the  bulbs,  and  by  August 
they  will  be  able  to  pay  you  back  and  buy  something  they 
desire  very  much.  It  may  lead  to  a  great  business  in  the  coun- 
try, like  that  of  a  man  in  Berlin,  N.  Y.,  who  has  seventy  acres 
of  gladioli.  (See  Fig.  64.)  The  peony  is  another  plant  that  gives 

two  crops — flowers 
and  roots.  A  single 
row  of  peonies  culti- 
vated with  a  wheel 
hoe  by  your  boy 
may  change  hatred 
of  the  farm  into 
love  of  it,  and 
create  a  fine  busi- 
ness, like  that  of  a 
peony  specialist  in 
Pennsylvania.  The 
farmers  near  Har- 
risburg,  Pa.,  bring 
to  market  iris, 
peonies,  garden 
pinks,  lilacs,  gla- 
dioli, dahlias,  hy- 
drangeas, and  china 
asters.  It  is  pin- 
money  for  the  wife, 
to  say  nothing  of 
the  pleasure. 

I  n  Winnebago 
County  children 
learn  to  grow  flow- 
ers at  school, 
and  other  farm 


55-56.  The  Nannyberry  for  Boundary  Planting   (Viburnum  Lentago) 

Everyone  likes  these  sweet  berries,  that  turn  dark  blue  or  black  in  September  and  remain  all  winter.  All  summer  it  is  a 
joy  to  watch  the  berries  change  color,  and  the  scarlet  stalks  make  a  vivid  foil.  The  bloom  comes  in  May  and  the  clusters 
are  often  5  inches  across.  In  autumn  the  foliage  turns  to  deep  orange.  It  is  native  to  Illinois.  This  big  bush  gro"s 
20  feet  high  or  more.  Plant  nannyberries  to  mark  the  boundaries  of  your  yard,  screen  unsightly  objects,  feed  the  birds, 
provide  winter  beauty,  and  repeat  the  prairie  lines  with  their  flat  flower-clusters.  At  one  time  you  may  see  green,  pink, 
and  blue  berries  all  in  the  same  cluster.  See  page  14,  paragraph  "Boundary  Planting." 


\ 


18 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


57.  A  Shameful  Way  to  Treat  Old  Trees 

This  grand  old  tree  has  died  of  neglect.    A  few  years  ago  it  might  have  been  saved  by 
$10  worth  of  tree  surgery.    See  page  14,  "Every  Tree  Worth  One  Dollar  a  Square  Inch. 


58.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Honoring  Old  Trees 


A  magnificent  tree  preserved  by  Dr.  Schenck.    A  little  tree  surgery  now  may  save  a 
tree  in  farmstead  or  field  which  will  add  $100  to  $500  to  the  cash  value  of  your  farm. 


59.   Elms  Worth  $1,000  a  Pair 


"I  bought  and  built  here  six  years  ago  because  of  the  two  street  trees  in  front,  paying 
$650  more  Tor  this  lot  than  for  any  of  the  treeless  lots  a  block  away  which  I  bought  for  invest- 
ment. Last  week  I  sold  one  of  these  treeless  lots  for  $1,500.  If  that  lot  were  in  the  block 
where  I  live  I  could  easily  sell  it  for  $3,000.  Hence,  I  conclude  that  every  pair  of  big  elms 
on  Oregon  Street  adds  about  $1,500  to  the  value  of  each  lot — or  let  us  say  conservatively 
$1,000.  Fifty-five  years  ago,  when  planted,  a  pair  of  these  elms  was  worth  $i.  If  that 
dollar  had  been  put  into  a  savings  bank  it  would  have  earned  $4.43  in  half  a  century  at 
3  per  cent  compound  interest.  Put  into  the  bank  of  earth.it  actually  earned  at  the  rate  of 
20%  a  year,  simple  interest,  or  1,000%  in  50  years."  (Signed)  James  W.  Garner,  Urbana, 
III.,  June  30,  1913.  Plant  permanent  trees  now  so  that  you  and  your  heirs  will  reap 
some  of  this  great  profit! 


60.  The  Great  Hale  Oak,   "Worth  a  Million  or  More*' 


"  "Most  every  day  of  my  life  I  take  my  hat  off  to  this  tree.  1  his  is  my  way  of  tree  worship. 
When  my  ancestors  bought  this  farm  in  1642,  this  tree  was  ollicially  called  'the  great  oak." 
It  may  be  one  thousand  years  old;  experts  say  it  is  over  eight  hundred.  It  is  95  feet  high. 
has  a  spread  of  121  feet,  and  is  19  feet  6  inches  in  circumference.  I  would  not  sell  it  for  a 
million  dollars,  or  any  money  —  no  matter  how  great  a  sum.  It  stands  on  private  property 
in  front  of  my  office,  close  up  to  the  edge  of  Glastonbury's  main  highway.  When  in  the 
Legislature  I  drafted  and  helped  pass  a  law  that  will  preserve  roadside  trees  all  over  our 


state.    If  this  oak  ever  needs  surgery  it  will  get  it,  but  at  present  it  is  perfectly  sound  and 

H_  _  _"„  ___.  ._  off,  gentlemen!    Long  life  to  the  old  Hale  oak!"    (Signed) 

.  Hale,  Fruit-grower,  South  Glastonbury,  Conn.    See  page  14,  paragraph  entitled 
"Every  Tree  Worth  One  Dollar  a  Square  Inch.  ' 


healthy  in  body  and  limb.    Hats  ofl 
John  H.  Ha'      " 


61.  The  Kind  of  Flower-garden  That  Does  Not  Fit  Illinois 

The  Colonial  garden  is  good  to-drcam  about,  but  box  is  not  hardy,  and  few  large  double 
roses  are  everywhere  satisfactory.  Labor  is  too  scarce  to  make  the  separate  flower-garden 
a  success  on  the  ordinary  prairie  farm.  For  appropriate  kinds,  see  page  17. 


62.  How  the  Farmer's  Wife  Can  Get   Flowers  for  Nothing 
Send  the  children  to  the  roadside,  fields,  and  woods  for  wild  flowers,  and  have  them  on 
the  table  every  week   throughout  the  season.    For  a  list  see  page   17,  near  bottom.    Use 
simple,  inexpensive  vases — not  fancy  forms  and  colors. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


19 


63.  A  Children's  Garden  That  Is  Practical  on  Illinois  Farms 

Why  not  start  your  boy  in  business  with  a  dollar's  worth  of  gladiolus  bulbs?    He  can 
sell  the  flowers  without  harming  the  bulbs.   Seep.  17,  paragraph  on  "Children's  Gardens." 

children  who  are  not  so  fortunate  may  get  (at  the  cost  of  a 
postal  card)  full  directions  for  growing  flowers,  by  writing  to 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for  Farmers'  Bulletin  195. 
Won't  you  help  your  children  start  a  flower-garden  that  will 
make  for  independence,  profit,  and  love  of  country?  Help  them 
make  a  sign  that  will  make  people  stop  and  buy;  e.g., 


CUT-FLOWERS  FOR  SALE  CHEAP 
RAISED  BY  ILLINOIS  CHILDREN 


5  Cents  a  Handful 
25  Cents  a  Basketful 
50  Cents  an  Armful 


4.   Bird-Gardens  for  Illinois  Farmers 

Restore  the  song  birds  to  Illinois  farms!    Experts  estimate 
that  certain  birds  save  American  farmers  $400,000,000  a  year, 


64.  What  the  Children's  Garden  May  Lead  To 

A  seventy-acre  gladiolus  farm  like  Cowee's,  or  a  ten-acre  peony  farm,  like  Farr's.    It 
may  change  natre'd  of  the  country  into  love  of  farming. 

because  they  keep  down  insects  that  will  damage  the  crops. 
Everyone  can  bring  the  birds  into  his  daily  life  by  planting 
shrubbery  at  the  edge  of  his  lawn.  You  can  make  more  money 
by  planting  a  mulberry  hedge  around  your  cherry  orchard 
than  you  can  by  shooting  robins,  for  the  birds  will  leave  cher- 
ries to  eat  mulberries.  Dwarf  juneberries  will  do  the  same 
trick.  You  make  only  5  per  cent  from  your  woodlot  now;  you 
can  double  this  if  you  will  put  up  some  of  the  new  scientific 
bird-houses  which  attract  woodpeckers,  the  greatest  enemies 
of  wood-destroying  insects,  and  therefore  the  greatest  friends 
of  the  forest.  You  can  have  squabs  to  eat  if  you  will  let  the 
children  raise  pigeons,  and  these  pigeons  can  be  housed-m  such 
a  way  as  to  beautify  your  barn  instead  of  making  a  mess  of 
it.  In  these  and  other  ways  birds  are  profitable,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  their  song,  color,  and  beauty. 

A  new  kind  of  bird-garden  that  is  full  of  western  character 
has  been  designed  by  Jens  Jensen  for  Mrs.  Julius  Rosenwald 
and  Mrs.  Albert  H.  Loeb.  (See  Figs.  65  and  109.)  Although 
in  Chicago,  the  Loeb  garden  attracts  martins,  wrens,  and 


65.  The  Rosenwald   Bird-Garden  in  Chicago 

Every  handy  farm  boy  can   make  a  martin  house  like  this,  with   a  cat-guard   below.    The  creeper  in  Fig.  66  can  be 
had  for  nothing  in  southern  Illinois  or  from  any  nurseryman  for  twenty-five  cents. 


66.  Every  Woman  Can  Have  a  Bird-Garden 


Plant  trumpet  creeper  and  the  humming-birds  will  come 
close  to  you  while  you  sit  on  the  porch  and  sew. 


20 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


67.  Save  These  Illinois  Flowers  from  Extermination 

American  bluebell,  or  Virginia  cowslip,  the  finest  blue  flower  of  spring — once  abundant 
in  Illinois.  Loves  low  meadows  and  streams.  It  means  more  to  us  than  Scotch  or  English 
bluebells.  Let  us  restore  American  bluebells  to  American  woods! 

robins.  A  dancing  spring  furnishes  them  with  water  for  drink- 
ing and  bathing;  a  food-house  shelters  them  during  winter 
storms;  and  the  flowering  shrubs  produce  edible  berries 
the  year  round.  Best  of  all,  the  garden  is  full  of  state  pride, 


68.  A  Woodlot  without  Wild  Flowers — Spoiled  by  Cows 

Why  not  fence  a  portion  for  the  family  picnic-ground  and  wild  garden?  Restore  the 
flowers  shown  on  this  page,  and  others  by  the  methods  described  on  page  22.  in  the  sec- 
tion on  "Wild  Gardens  lor  Illinois  Farmers." 

for   practically   every    tree   and    shrub   is    native   to   Cook 
County. 

The  bird-garden  seems  destined  to  spread  quickly  all  over 
America,  for  it  probably  gives  more  for  the  money  than  any 


69.  A  Woodlot  Full  of  Wild  Flowers— No  Cows 

The  wild  blue  phlox  (Phlox  divaricata)  once  carpeted  the  woodlands  of  Illinois  and  tens  of  thousands  of  their  thrilling  blue  flowers  could  be  seen  in  May.    They  will  come  back  and 
stay,  if  you  will  spend  $2  for  enough  three-strand  wire  to  inclose  an  acre. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


21 


70.   Flowers  for  a  Century  at  no  Cost 


71.  Restore  the  Illinois  Rose  to  Illinois  Woods! 

In  full  sunshine  the  Illinois  rose  is  a  compact  bush,  but  in  the  woods  it  is  a  picturesque  vine — mystic,  wonderful.    See 
how  it  flows,  like  water,  over  obstacles!   It  throws  a  mantle  of  charity  over  new  stumps,  bare  earth,  and  all  unsighthness. 

„       Every  Illinois  farmer  can  enjoy  the  Illinois  rose  the  year  round  without  cost  in  his  woodland  pasture.    Let  the  children 

plant  them  this  fall  in  woodlot  or  meadow.    In  a  few  years        gather  the  fruits  and  bury  them  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  where  they  will  restore  charm  to  the  woodland  by  obliterating 
you  will  be  planting  by  the  thousand  for  pleasure.  the  "browsing  line"  made  by  cattle.    Let  us  plant  Illinois  roses  along  every  trail  in  every  piece  of  woods  in  Illinois! 


These  daffodils  have  bloomed  without  care,  on  a  farm, 
for  over  one  hundred  years!  Every  Illinois  farmer  can 
afford  to  invest  $i  in  fifty  daffodil  bulbs.  Let  your  children 


type  of  garden  yet  invented,  and  it  can  be  adapted  to  any 
climate,  soil,  or  purse.  For  instance,  at  no  cost,  the  farmer's 
wife  can  put  a  shallow  pan  of  water  on  a  post  near  her  kitchen 


window  and  watch  the  bluebirds  and  song  sparrows  spatter 
the  water,  while  she  peels  the  potatoes.  Twenty-five  cents 
will  give  her  a  trumpet  creeper  on  the  porch  (see  Fig.  66), 


72.  Wild  Gardening  in  the  Meadow 

No  use  to  cry  "millionaire"  or  "eastern."    Every  farm  can   have  this  for  $10.    The  bulbs  of  poet's  narcissus  cost  less  than  one  cent  each.    Invest  $10  this  fall  and  get  1,000  fragrant 
white  flowers  next  May.    They  will  multiply  without  care  and  never  harm  your  hay-crop.    Plant  with  a  dibble  when  the  ground  is  soft. 


22 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


73.  Japanese  Barberry  (Berberis  Thunbergii)  74.  Common  Barberry  (Berberis  vulgaris) 

Why  not  have  a  winter  garden  of  shrubs  with  brightly  colored  berries  or  twigs  which  will  make  your  place  look  cheer- 
ful the  year  round  instead  of  cold  and  bare?  For  $3  to  $5  you  can  get  a  dozen  kinds.  You  can  propagate  enough  to  trans- 
form your  property.  See  page  23,  paragraph  entitled  "Winter  Gardens  for  Illinois  Farmers." 


to  bring  the  hummingbirds  within  six  feet  of  her  knitting. 
Southward,  trumpet  vine  can  be  had  for  nothing  from  the 
fence-rows.  Five  cents'  worth  of  gourd  seed  will  keep  the  child- 
ren out  of  mischief,  and  make  houses  that  will  bring  wrens  to 
the  porch.  A  simple  martin  house,  such  as  handy  boys  can 
make,  will  do  something  to  keep  down  malarial  mosquitos 
and  typhoid  flies.  (See  Fig.  65.) 

But  the  old  ways  of  attracting  friendly  birds  are  not  good 
enough.  The  ordinary  bird-house  made  by  children  leads  only 
to  a  tragedy,  for  the  cats  get  the  young  birds.  There  must  be 
cat  guards.  And  there  is  a  new  type  of  bird-house  to  perfect 
which  a  German  has  spent  thirty  thousand  dollars  and  thirty 
years.  To  find  out  all  about  it,  write  to  the  National  Associa- 
tion of  Audubon  Societies,  1974  Broadway,  N.  Y.  Send  them 
fifty  cents  for  the  best  book;  viz.,  "How  to  Attract  and  Protect 
the  Wild  Birds,"  by  Hiesemann,  and  ask  for  the  names  of 
manufacturers  of  scientific  bird-houses.  Write  also  to  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  for  reprints  entitled  "Does  it  Pay 
the  Farmer  to  Attract  Birds?"  and  "Plants  Useful  to  Attract 
Birds  and  Protect  Fruit." 


5.   Wild  Gardens  for  Illinois 
Farmers 

Old-style  flower-gardening  is  not 
a  sensible  occupation  for  overworked 
farmers.  But  there  are  three  new 
propositions  that  are  practical  for 
Illinois  farmers  because  they  can  pay 
back  their  cost  in  real  values,  they 
have  no  rush  season,  and  they  involve 
no  pottering  with  seeds.  The  first  is 
to  fence  a  portion  of  the  woodlot,  and 
make  it  a  playground,  picnic  spot, 
and  wild  garden.  The  average  wood- 
lot  has  some  beauty,  but  not  enough, 
because  the  cows  destroy  the  low 
branches  of  the  trees  and  the  wild 
flowers.  (See  Fig.  68.)  Keep  the  cows 
out  and  the  charm  will  come  back; 
shrubs  will  grow  up  around  the  edges, 
so  that  it  will  no  longer  be  possible 
to  look  right  through  the  woods.  And 
you  do  not  need  to  plant  the  wild 


flowers;  the  birds  will  bring  the  seeds.  In  four  years  the 
ground  will  be  carpeted  again  with  hepaticas,  bloodroot,  tril- 
liums,  wild  blue  phlox  (see  Fig.  69),  American  bluebells  (see 
Fig.  67),  shooting  stars,  wood  asters,  and  many  more.  The 
farmer  himself  need  do  nothing  but  build  the  fence,  and  the 
only  loss  will  be  a  bit  of  pasturage,  say  ten  rods  square.  The 
trees  in  the  new  wild  garden  will  continue  to  grow  more  valu- 
able every  year  for  timber.  Think  of  the  corn-roasts  and  holi- 
day celebrations  in  such  a  spot!  Isn't  it  better  than  a  hot, 
dusty  day  at  a  distant  "amusement  park"? 

For  every  hundred  flowers  that  you  can  raise  by  seed- 
sowing  you  can  have  a  thousand  by  using  the  axe.  Cut  out  all 
the  crooked  and  spindling  trees  in  woods  like  Fig.  69,  and  give 
the  largest  and  most  permanent  trees  a  chance  to  develop  to 
the  utmost.  Don't  do  this  all  at  once,  or  you  will  let  in  too 
much  light  and  kill  the  big  trees  by  "sunscald."  Distribute 
your  cutting  over  four  years,  and  aim  to  let  in  enough  light  to 
encourage  wild  flowers  but  not  enough  to  encourage  grass.  That 
is  the  way  to  carpet  the  ground  with  acres  of  wild  flowers,  ten 
thousand  of  a  kind  in  a  single  colony. 


75.  The  Sort  of  Winter  Garden  Any  Farmer  Can  Have 

Every  countryman  has  one  great  advantage  over  the  city  man  because  he  can  grow 
evergreens.  Evergreens  are  sure  to  die  in  the  smoky  air  of  cities,  but  in  the  country, 
they  add  to  the  value  of  a  place  every  year,  because  they  are  beautiful  the  year  round 
ftnd  make  a  better  background  for  flowers  and  autumn  colors  than  deciduous  trees.  Planted 
singly  on  the  prairies  they  are  likely  to  die,  but  in  thick  groups,  behind  shelter-belts,  they 
are  likely  to  succeed.  See  page  23,  paragraph  on  "Winter  Gardens." 


j6.  The  Illinois  Rose  for  Your  Shrubbery  Border 

Garden  roses,  i.e.  the  large,  double-flowered  varieties,  cannot  thrive  permanently  in 
a  shrubbery  border,  and  they  look  out  of  place.  On  the  border  of  your  lawn  you  want  the 
Illinois  or  prairie  rose  (Rosa  setigera).  In  the  rough  and  tumble  of  a  hardy  border  the 
Illinois  rose  can  usually  hold  its  own  against  foreign  shrubs  and  weeds.  And  it  arches  over 
so  as  to  connect  lawn  and  shrubbery.  Nurserymen  of  Illinois — will  you  specify  one  group 
of  Illinois  rose  in  every  border  you  plan  or  plant  in  this  state?  See  page  26. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


23 


77.  High  Bush  Cranberry  in  Flower  (Viburnum  Opulus) 


78.   High   Bush  Cranberry  in   Fruit 


One  of  the  most  valuable  shrubs  for  year-round  beauty.  It  blooms  in  May.  The  large  showy  flowers  are  sterile;  the  inner  ones  make  fruits.  The  autumn  foliage  is  bright  red, 
and  the  scarlet  berries  are  attractive  all  winter,  as  they  are  not  eaten  by  birds.  Many  people  now  prefer  this  to  the  snowball  because  of  its  fruits.  It  is  not  troubled  by  plant-lice  as 
the  snowball  is.  This  shrub  is  native  to  Illinois  and  can  be  easily  told  by  the  maple-like,  or  three-fingered  leaves. 


In  the  meadow,  too,  it  is  perfectly  practicable  to  have  daffo- 
dils and  poet's  narcissus  by  the  thousand,  as  English  farmers  do. 
These  fragrant  yellow-and-white  flowers  bloom  in  April  and 
May,  and  do  not  interfere  with  the  hay  crop.  You  can  mow 
the  hay  at  the  regular  time  without  hurting  next  year's  crop 
of  flowers,  for  the  daffodil  leaves  turn  yellow  and  fall  while 
the  bulbs  are  ripening  for  next  year.  There  is  an  old  field 
near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  where  daffodils  have  multiplied  without 
care  for  over  a  hundred  years.  (See  Fig.  70.)  Daffodil  bulbs 
cost  only  two  or  three  dollars  per  hundred,  which  is  two  or 
three  cents  apiece.  If  you  like,  you  can  get  your  money  back 
in  six  months,  for  you  can  cut  and  sell  three  dollars'  worth  of 
flowers  without  harming  the  bulbs.  But  you  won't  want  to. 
You  will  prefer  to  enjoy  the  flowers  in  the  meadow.  The 
bulbs  of  the  poet's  narcissus  (see  Fig.  72)  cost  only  half  a 
cent  apiece,  and  five  dollars  invested  this  fall  will  give  you  a 


thousand  flowers  next  May.    Why  not  buy  some  of  the  bulbs 
this  fall  and  make  a  trial? 

6.   Winter  Gardens  for  Illinois  Farmers 

You  can  make  an  outdoor  winter  garden  for  $3  to  $5  that 
will  pay  back  its  cost  in  cash  in  two  years,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  pleasure  it  will  give  you.  Get  a  dozen  kinds  of  shrubs 
with  brightly  colored  twigs,  such  as  the  red-stemmed  Illinois 
rose;  the  red,  purple,  and  yellow  dogwoods;  the  salmon,  blue, 
and  golden  willows;  the  green  forsythia,  kerria,  and  memorial 
rose;  and  they  will  give  you  a  fine  show  of  color  the  very  day 
you  plant  them  in  the  fall  or  early  spring.  Take  orders  for 
them,  if  you  like,  as  a  certain  farmer  in  Dixon  does.  Any 
nurseryman  will  be  glad  to  give  you  a  commission,  and  your 
winter  garden  will  pay  its  own  cost. 


79-80.  The  Silky  Dogwood  for  Your  "Illinois  Border" 

This  shrub  (Cornus  Amomum  or  sericea)  is  famous  for  its  winter  beauty,  the  purplish  red  branches  being  second  in  vividness  only  to  the  Siberian  red  dogwood.  I  he  bush  grows 
3  to  10  feet  high  and  blooms  in  June  or  July,  about  a  month  later  than  the  Siberian.  The  berries  are  pale  blue,  sometimes  bluish  white.  Native  to  Illinois.  Plant  silky  dogwoods  near 
your  house,  in  your  lx>rder,  bird-garden,  or  winter  garden,  and  enjoy  their  gorgeous  color  every  sunny  day  from  November  to  March.  See  page  26,  first  paragraph. 


24 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


81.  Coneflowers  as  They  Grow  Beside  Illinois  Roads 

The  most  peculiar  plants  of  Illinois  are  the  prairie  flowers,  and  the  most  characteristic  family  is  the  Compositae,  includ- 
ing compass  plant,  sunflowers,  gaillardia,  perennial  asters,  sneezewccd,  bpltonia,  goldcnrods,  brown-eyed  susans,  the  pur- 
ple, pink,  and  yellow  coneflowcrs.    The  secret  charm  of  all  these  flowers  is  that  each  is  a  miniature  edition  of  the  prairie.         flow 
Why  not  have  a  "prairie  garden"  composed  largely  of  these  flowers  and  those  mentioned  on  page  26?    Let  us  make  a        The 
refuge  for  these  disappearing  flowers — a  border  of  pjairie  flowers  in  every  Illinois  homel 


82  Coneflowers  in  an  Eastern  Garden 

This  shows  that  the  millionaires  cultivate  what  we  have 
been  taught  to  ignore  or  despise.  Many  of  our  prairie 
flowers  have  found  their  way  into  the  gardens  of  the  world. 
They  will  look  better  here  than  in  any  other  country, 
when  every  Illinois  home  has  an  Illinois  border. 


83.  Shall  We  Yield  to  the  East  in  Appreciating  Beauty? 

Look  at  these  Illinois  or  prairie  roses  planted  along  an  eastern  drive,  covering  raw  banks  more  cheaply  than  grass,  and  edging  the  road  to  the  exclusion  of  weeds!  Is  there  beauty 
here,  or  can  we  see  beauty  only  in  bedding  plants?  Are  we  so  uncultured  that  we  can  enjoy  only  rare,  costly,  showy,  foreign,  artificial  things — nothing  simple,  natural,  common?  We 
have  nearly  exterminated  our  unique  prairie  flowers;  let  us  bring  them  back  to  every  Illinois  home!  We  have  blindly  copied  the  rest  of  the  world,  bestrewing  our  fair  lawns  with  stars 
of  cpleus  and  circles  of  cannas;  let  us  have  a  style  of  our  own!  Let  us  know  and  love  every  wild  plant  within  a  mile  of  our  homes,  discover  its  peculiar  beauty,  and  cudgel  our  imagi- 
nations for  nobler  ways  of  using  the  Illinois  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers! 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


25 


The  next  step  is  to  invest  $5  in  a  dozen  kinds  of  shrubs 
that  have  berries  which  are  attractive  all  winter.  Get  first 
high  bush  cranberry  (see  Figs.  77  and  78),  the  Japanese  and 
common  barberries  (see  Figs.  73  and  74),  and  the  multillora 
rose,  because  its  berries  are  red,  and  red  is  the  warmest  color 
against  the  snow.  You  can  also  enjoy  all  winter  the  black  ber- 
ries of  Regel's  privet,  the  blue  berries  of  the  white  fringe,  the 
red  hips  of  the  Scotch  rose,  and  the  scarlet  berries  of  the  Ameri- 
can, Japanese,  and  evergreen  bittersweets.  The  fruits  of  the 
rugosa  rose,  winterberry,  and  mountain  ash  will  be  attractive 
until  New  Year's. 

Every  farmer  can  enjoy  a  winter  garden  of  evergreens  such 
as  no  millionaire  in  any  western  city  can  have  because  of  soft- 
coal  smoke.  (See  Fig.  75.)  Plant  evergreens  for  windbreaks 
and  screens,  and  the  beauty  will  take  care  of  itself.  At  present, 
America  is  one  of  the  bleakest  and  ugliest  countries  in  the  world 
for  nearly  half  the  year.  But  Illinois  can  become  famous  for 
its  winter  beauty  if  we  all  set  to  work  planting  permanent 
native  material.  We  never  can  do  so  well  as  England  with 
evergreens,  but  we  can  improve  conditions  by  planting  ever- 
greens in  large  groups  instead  of  singly.  And  we  can  work  out 
a  new  type  of  winter  beauty  with  the  aid  of  western  mate- 
rials, especially  hawthorns,  crab  apples,  and  shrubs  with 
brightly  colored  berries  or  twigs. 

7.   A  Tree- Garden,  or  Arboretum 

One  of  the  most  interesting  gardens  in  Illinois  is  the  tree- 
garden,  or  arboretum,  of  Mr.  L.  R.  Bryant,  a  farmer  at  Prince- 
ton. (Sea  Fig.  84.)  An  arboretum  is  a  time-honored  farmer's 
hobby  that  is  worthy  of  a  real  man,  for  at  least  three  Penn- 
sylvania farmers  had  famous  tree-gardens — John  Bartram, 
John  Evans,  and  the  Painter  brothers.  It  would  be  folly  now 
for  any  farmer  to  try  to  grow  all  the  hardy  trees  in  the  world, 
for  even  the  Arnold  Arboretum  cannot  do  that  on  three  hun- 
dred acres.  Let  the  millionaires  waste  their  money  in  trying 
to  grow  plants  of  hostile  climates,  such  as  those  of  Europe  and 
the  Pacific  Coast.  It  is  not  even  practical  to  grow  all  the  trees 
of  allied  climates;  viz.,  those  of  China,  Japan,  and  Korea. 
The  most  profitable  scheme  for  the  Illinois  farmer  is  to  collect 
only  the  trees  of  Illinois.  Assemble  these  near  a  house-site  that 
you  may  be  willing  to  sell  twenty-five  years  from  now,  and  some 


84.  A  "Tree-garden"   Is  a  Hobby  Worthy  of  a  Real  Man 

Bartram.  Evans,  Painter  and  others  increased  the  values  of  their  farms  by  their  tree- 
gardens.  (Arboretum  of  Mr.  L.  R.  Bryant,  Princeton,  Illinois.)  The  best  scheme  is  a 
collection  of  Illinois  trees  and  shrubs. 

day  there  will  come  down  the  road  a  millionaire  city  man  who 
wants  a  country  home  and  cannot  wait  a  quarter  of  a  century 
for  trees  to  grow.  Then  is  the  time  to  get  your  pay  for  all  you 
have  spent  on  your  collection  of  Illinois  trees. 

Your  white  pine,  short-leaf  pine,  arborvitae,  red  cedar,  and 
juniper  will  look  mighty  good  to  a  millionaire  who  wants  some- 
thing that  is  longer-lived  than  cheap  Scotch  pine  and  dismal 
Norway  spruce.  What  buyer  can  resist  your  butternut,  pecan, 
shagbark  hickory,  hornbeam,  ironwood,  sweet  birch,  Ameri- 
can beech,  pin  oak,  red  oak,  scarlet  oak,  black  oak,  shingle 
oak,  white  oak,  bur  oak,  American  elm,  hackberry,  red  mul- 
berry, tulip  tree,  papaw,  sassafras,  sweet  gum,  sycamore,  prairie 
crab,  service-berry,  pear  thorn,  long-spine  thorn,  wild  plum, 
choke  cherry,  red  bud,  coffee  tree,  honey  locust,  wafer  ash, 
wahoo,  sugar  maple,  red  maple,  buckeye,  yellow  buckthorn, 
basswood,  Hercules'  club,  flowering  dogwood,  sour  gum,  per- 
simmon, silver  bell,  white  ash,  western  catalpa,  and  black 
haw  ? 

Surely  this  is  a  gorgeous  list,  which  would  be  irresistible  to- 
a  Chicago  buyer,  and  also  to  your  children,  some  of  whom  will 
not  care  to  leave  a  farm  with  an  Illinois  arboretum  on  it! 


5.  Children,  Is  This  Your  Ideal? 

Are  you  content  to  live  in  this  way?  Or  do  you  want  a  permanent  country  home?  Do 
you  wish  to  become  Wall  Street  millionaires  and  live  the  feverish  life  of  a  big,  artificial 
city?  Or  do  you  think  that  the  finest  way  to  live  is  to  have  a  permanent  country  home. 
Why  not  a  race  of  real  American  country  gentlemen — not  mere  city  folks  who  spend 
summers  on  extravagant  country  estates?  (See  page  26.) 


86.  The  Illinois  Type  of  Country  Gentleman 


This  house  was  built  from  honest  profits  made  by  raising  corn  on  this  very  farm — 
not  money  made  in  a  great  city  by  Wall  Street  methods  of  fleecing  widows  and  orphans. 
The  owner  is  not  an  absentee  landlord,  skinning  his  land  and  his  tenants,  but  a  real  farmer. 
He  is  not  a  mere  summer  resident,  but  lives  in  the  country  the  year  round.  (Harvey  J- 
Sconce,  Sidell,  III.)  Give  us  more  real  American  country  gentlemen! 


' 


26 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


87-88.  Trees  Will  Make  Your  Place  More  Salable! 


"This  house  cost  no  more  than  the  other  and  was  better  in  some  important  ways, 
but  it  had  no  trees  in  the  yard.  We  wanted  our  children  to  have  a  shady  playground 
before  they  grew  up.  So — 

8.  Every  Home  Should  Have  an  "Illinois  Border" 

Mr.  J.  Horace  McFarland,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  has  a  "dead 
line"  on  his  home  grounds  beyond  which  no  plant  is  tolerated 
that  is  not  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  Nothing  will  add  more  to 
an  honest  state  pride  than  a  border  of  Illinois  shrubs  on  every 
farm  lawn.  In  April  you  can  have  the  bloom  of  red  bud;  in 
May,  the  arrow-wood  and  sheepberry;  in  June,  the  prairie  rose, 
high  bush  cranberry,  lead  plant,  and  false  indigo;  in  July,  but- 
tonbush  and  arborescent  hydrangea;  in  August,  the  shining  and 
staghorn  sumachs  and  Hercules'  club;  in  September,  witch- 
hazel;  while  all  winter  you  can  enjoy  the  red  berries  of  the  high 
bush  cranberry  and  the  red  stems  of  the  Illinois  rose. 

While  the  shrubs  are  getting  their  growth,  why  not  fill  some 
of  the  spaces  between  them  with  famous  prairie  flowers  that 


89.  Our  New  Winter  View  90.  Our  Old  Winter  View 

When  our  family  grew  too  large  for  the  house  that  we  sold  to  the  Picketts  we  had  to  move  to  a  big  lot  that  was 
tcly  bare.  1  he  contrast  was  so  painful  that  we  would  gladly  have  paid  $3,000  in  cold  cash  if  we  could  have  moved  all 
reis  and  shrubs.  To  reproduce  as  nearly  as  possible  what  had  been  planted  before  our  time  would  have  cost  $1,200. 


"When 
absol 
those 
To 
mo' 
yej 

something  nowl 


We  bought  this  house  and  have  never  regretted  it.  The  original  cost  of  plans  and 
planting  was  about  $30,  and  the  trees  saved  us  twelve  to  seventeen  years  of  waiting." 
(Signed)  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  S.  Pickett,  Urbana,  III. 

have  found  their  way  into  the  gardens  of  the  world?  In  spring 
you  can  have  the  prairie  violet,  sharp-leaved  beard  tongue, 
purple  poppy-mallow.  In  summer  will  bloom  the  gaillardias, 
long-headed  and  purple  concflower,  rough  ox-eye,  mealy  sage, 
compass  and  cup  plants,  and  Pitcher's  sage.  In  autumn  you 
can  have  the  showy  linear-leaved  sunflowers,  the  gray-hended 
coneflower,  the  Kansas  gay  feather,  and  Stokes'  aster.  You 
need  not  rob  Nature  or  waste  precious  time  in  hunting  Illinois 
flowers,  for  practically  every  plant  mentioned  in  this  circular 
can  be  bought  from  nurserymen;  and  nursery-grown  plants 
usually  give  better  results  than  collected  stock  because  they  are 
better  prepared  to  stand  the  shock  of  transplanting.  If  you 
cannot  appreciate  the  beauty  of  common  wild  flowers,  see  Figs. 
81  and  82,  and  read  "The  Religion  of  the  Prairie"  on  inside 
back  cover. 

THE  CHILDREN'S  IDEAL— A 
PERMANENT  COUNTRY  HOME 

What  do  the  children  on  Illinois 
farms  most  desire?  Do  you  wish  to 
become  Wall  Street  millionaires,  and 
live  the  feverish  life  of  a  great  arti- 
ficial city?  Or  do  you  think  that  the 
finest  way  to  live  is  to  have  a  perma- 
nent country  home?  The  highest  type 
of  life  yet  invented,  in  the  opinion 
of  many,  is  that  of  the  English  squire 
at  his  best.  All  over  this  world  there 
are  younger  sons  who  are  working 
to  realize  just  one  ideal — to  go  back 
to,  England  and  make  a  permanent 
home,  not  in  London,  but  in  the  coun- 
try. Why  not  a  race  of  real  Ameri- 
can country  gentlemen,  not  mere  city 
folks  who  spend  summers  on  extrava- 
gant country  estates?  Already  we 
have  them  in  New  England.  Witness 
the  four  Thayer  places  at  Lancaster, 
Mass.;  also  dozens  of  southern  homes. 
Col.  F.  O.  Lowden,  of  Oregon,  Illinois, 
lives  in  the  country  the  year  round, 
and  boasts  that  he  makes  his  farm 
pay.  Mr.  Henry  M.  Dunlap,  of  Savoy, 
and  Mr.  Harvey  J.  Sconce,  of  Sidell, 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


27 


91.  Before  Landlord  and  Tenant  Become  Friends 

Bad  for  both,  bad  for  the  land,  and  bad  for  future  generations.  We  need  a  better 
system  of  tenantry,  at  least  as  good  as  that  of  northern  Italy.  And  it  must  grow  out  of 
the  "Illinois  system  of  permanent  agriculture." 

are  real  Illinois  country  gentlemen  who  have  permanent  homes 
and  well-planted  grounds,  and  these  improvements  have  come 
out  of  Illinois  farms,  not  city  speculation.  Is  the  rising  genera- 
tion willing  to  live  in  the  cramped,  cheerless,  citified  farmhouses 
and  bare  grounds  of  today  (see  Fig.  86),  or  do  the  children 
aim  at  something  more  permanent,  comfortable,  and  fitting? 

WHAT   YOU   CAN   GET   FOR   NOTHING 

The  best  ornamental  plants  that  any  Illinois  farmer  can  use 
may  be  had  for  the  cost  of  digging;  viz.,  Illinois  trees,  shrubs, 
vines,  and  flowers.  Dig  only  where  there  are  too  many  plants 
for  their  own  good.  Do  not  rob  the  public.  Ask  permission  of 
private  owners,  and  do  not  be  greedy.  Can't  you  find  within 
ten  miles  of  your  home  all  the  plants  shown  in  Fig.  110? 
Beginning  at  the  upper  left  corner,  they  are:  Flowering  dog- 
wood to  frame  the  view  of  your  house;  American  bluebells, 
to  restore  charm  to  your  woods;  white  pines,  to  make  a  digni- 


92.  After  Landlord  and  Tenant  Become  Friends 

The  landlord  supplies  the  paint;  the  tenant  the  labor.  The  landlord  gives  a  dollar's 
worth  of  seeds;  the  tenant  raises  the  flowers.  T  he  landlord  opens  his  eyes  to  native  beauty; 
the  tenant  digs  vines  from  the  woods.  Both  arc  richer,  happier,  better.  Time  —  one  year. 


A  Few  Trees 


93.  What  You  Can  Get  for  the  Price  of  a  Hog 

Here  are  two  Illinois  farms  which  prove  that  a  few  trees  make  all  the  difference  between 
a  house  and  a  home — a  place  to  work  and  a  place  to  live.  These  trees  cost  originally  about 
$17  to  $22.  1  hey  were  planted  without  any  plan  or  reason  but  they  are  better  than  nothing 
because  trees  increase  in  value  every  year.  Plant  some  trees  now.  Sell  a  hog  and  have 
some  beauty! 


94.   Unplanted  Street  in  Somerville,   Mass. 

"This  street  and  the  next  were  built  by  the  same  real-estate  dealers.    The  houses  are 

a  1  exactly  alike,  but  those  on  the  implanted  street  rent  for  $300  a  year  while  those  on  the          e,      s     e    proi  e  , 

planted  street  rent  for  $420.    The  renters  gladly  pay  the  40  per  cent  more  for  the  privilege        yiejds  him  a  net  profit  of  $330,  which  is  57  per  cent  more  than  on  the  Unplanted  street 
ol  living  on  the  planted  street.    The  beautiful  street  actually  cost  less  than  this  ugly  one.        This  is  unanswerable  proof  of  the  cash   profit   in  planning  streets  and  planting  trees." 
became  the  curbstone  on  this  street,  which  is  unnecessary,  cost  more  than  all  the  trees  and         (Signed)  Loring  Underwood,  Landscape  Architect,  lioston. 
shrubs  on  ihe  planted  street." 


95.  Planted  Street  in  Somerville,   Mass. 

"Assuming  the  cost  of  each  house  as  $3,000  and  the  landlord's  yearly  expenses  as  3  per 
cent,  his  net  profit  is  $210  a  year  from  each  implanted  house,  while  each  planted  house 


28 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


fied  approach;  high  bush  cranberry  for  red  berries  against  the 
snow  all  winter;  Virginia  creeper  for  the  porch;  sumach  to 
screen  an  outbuilding;  the  old  tree  in  the  field  to  leave  for  the 
children;  elders  for  your  bird-garden;  a  tulip  tree  to  make  a 
background  for  the  house;  red  cedars  for  windbreaks;  Illinois 
rose  for  your  Illinois  border,  and  high  bush  cranberry  to  repeat 
the  prairie  lines  and  make  the  "religion  of  the  prairie"  a  joy. 

WHAT   YOU    CAN   GET   FOR   TEN    DOLLARS 

For  $10  you  can  accomplish  any  one  of  the  following  things: 
You  can  buy  fifty  white  pines  and  fifty  hemlocks  a  foot  high, 
which  will  some  day  shelter  house  and  barn  from  the  wind  and 
screen  the  outbuildings. 

You  can  buy  four  elms,  8  to  10  feet  high,  to  frame  the  view 
of  your  house,  front  and  back,  and  a  pair  of  hawthorns,  5  or  6 
feet  high,  to  frame  the  view  of  the  prairie  from  your  porch. 

You  can  get  twenty  Japanese  barberries  2  feet  high,  to  plant 
against  the  foundations  of  your  house,  or  twelve  vines,  all 
different,  to  give  your  house  character  and  year-round  interest, 
and  twenty-four  more  to  transform  the  outbuildings  from 
ugliness  to  beauty. 

You  can  plant  enough  mulberry  hedge  to  save  your  fruit 
from  troublesome  birds  and  encourage  desirable  birds. 

You  can  start  the  children  in  the  cut-flower  business,  with 
ten  different  kinds  of  perennials,  one  for  each  week  of  vaca- 
tion. Thus  each  week  they  will  have  ten  clumps  from  which  to 
cut  and  sell  flowers.  You  can  have  a  bird-garden  composed  of 
twenty  to  forty  different  kinds  of  shrubs  with  edible  berries. 

You  can  have  a  winter  garden  composed  of  twenty-four 
kinds  of  shrubs,  with  twigs  that  are  attractive  from  October  to 
March. 

You  can  have  an  Illinois  border,  containing  eight  kinds  of 
shrubs,  with  a  dozen  of  each  kind  in  a  group. 

You  cannot  make  a  big  profit  if  you  merely  sit  down  with 
a  catalogue  and  order  $10  worth  of  miscellaneous  plants  you 


happen  to  know  and  like,  and  then  scatter  them  aimlessly 
about.  But  it  is  wonderful  what  you  can  accomplish  with  $10 
if  you  have  any  kind  of  a  plan. 

Have  you  $10  worth  of  love  for  your  home?  If  10,000  of 
us  will  spend  $10  each  this  year,  on  planting,  what  a  wonder- 
ful improvement  that  $100,000  will  make  in  the  appearance  of 
Illinois!  And  how  much  your  $10  will  add  to  the  happiness  of 
your  family!  Why  not  save  $10  on  luxuries,  and  invest  it  in 
planting  for  home  happiness? 

WHAT  YOU    CAN   GET  FOR  THE   PRICE  OF  A  HOG 

For  $17  to  $22  you  can  have  any  two  or  three  of  the  com- 
binations just  named.  For  example,  you  can  plant  evergreens 
that  will  make  a  combination  windbreak,  screen,  and  winter- 
garden.  Or  you  can  frame  a  lawn,  make  an  Illinois  border, 
and  attract  friendly  birds — all  with  the  same  plants  and  in  the 
same  part  of  your  grounds.  By  close  figuring,  it  is  even  possible 
to  accomplish  all  the  objects  here  mentioned,  except  two;  viz., 
make  a  lawn  and  get  a  first-class  plan  for  your  home  grounds. 
We  do  not  wish  to  discourage  anyone  by  underestimating  the 
cost  of  gardening.  It  often  costs  a  city  man  $100  to  make  a 
lawn  of  one  acre,  for  the  seed  alone  costs  $25,  plowing  and  har- 
rowing $7.50,  subsoiling  $5,  sowing  $i,  manure  $10,  while  the 
grading  and  other  expenses  may  bring  the  total  to  $100.  The 
farmer,  however,  need  not  make  a  cash  outlay  of  more  than 
$25  for  a  lawn,  or  say  the  price  of  a  hog.  Sell  a  hog,  and  have 
some  beauty! 

WHAT   YOU   CAN   GET   FOR   ONE   HUNDRED 
DOLLARS 

A  good  many  farmers  are  now  getting  their  places  planned1 
and  planted  for  $100,  the  price  of  five  hogs.  Can't  you?  Do 
not  go  at  this  matter  either  in  the  spirit  of  show  or  of  senti- 
mentality, but  consider  this  business  proposition:  Can't  you 


Machine 
Shed 

X 

Granary  -   Shop 

Pasture 


Granary 


Barn    N 


_ 

mm  around 


I 

!  Bush  Fruiis        •  ChickenYard 


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Hou«        Garden 


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i 


Lane ,' 


&    GXooo) 

Wn  i — '  '  •  !  I    •    i   .'  .  \     i 


y-._ 


Highway 
96.  Before  Enlarging  the  Farmstead 


Tne.y.art'  was  on'y  I0.S  *  12°  fcet  and  was  bounded  by  two  straight  rows  of  box  elders, 
nch  hid  all  the  good  views  and  left  all  the  ugly  outbuildings  in  plain  sight.    Otherwise 
the  yard  was  bare — no  playground,  no  foundation  planting,  hardly  a  flower.    The  next 


wh 

J— -  —      "™     •*""»-          •'**     JJI.4  >  .     i  •  .11  I  11  ,  ,      IIU      I'  ill  M  I  1.1  I    i.  n  i       |  ,i.i  j  i  i   i  i  i,    ,      llultllj      a     IH1WC1.          1  lie     lIVAb 

shows  how  George  Curtiss,  of  Stockton,  Jo  Daviess  Co.,  plans  to  improve  the  farmstead, 
hig.  07  has  been  re-drawn  and  improved  by  Mr.  L.  E.  Fogjesong,  but  it  shows  what  a 
student  can  do  after  attending  a  dozen  lectures  and  six  practical  exercises.  Many  farmers 
should  do  as  well  as  this  after  studying  this  circular. 


of  i     '  V) 

v  v  'jii^'H^S^ 

\j-*  ?  , rf     &/  ^ —       P^" 

'  -y      Hiihway     9-» 

7        if 


97.  After  Enlarging  the  Farmstead 

The  yard  is  now  170  x  igo  feet,  which  is  three-fourths  of  an  acre — an  increase  of  r$o 
per  cent.  He  gets  five  good  views  by  cutting  out  useless  trees;  nearly  triples  his  lawn; 
removes  and  groups  in  better  places  the  utilities,  e.g.,  small  fruits,  chickens,  and  smoke- 
house; screens  outbuildings  and  chicken-yard;  cuts  out  the  decaying  fruit  trees,  while 
saving  the  best;  protects  his  house  from  winds  by  evergreens;  gets  room  for  a  tennis-court; 
plants  the  boundaries  and  foundations;  makes  a  flower-garden  visible  from  the  parlor; 
and  adds  a  bird-garden — all  at  a  cost  of  $46.15,  the  price  of  two  hogs. 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


29 


invest  $100  in  plans  and  planting  in  such  a  way  that  it  will  add 
$500  to  $  1,000  to  the  salable  value  of  your  home  in  five  or  ten 
years?  Can  you  make  as  big  a  profit  by  putting  that  money 
into  house,  barn,  or  hogs?  The  plan  is  the  most  important  thing 
of  all! 

HOW  TO   PLAN   YOUR   HOME   GROUNDS 

The  ideal  is  to  have  a  first-class  landscape  gardener,  because 
a  beginner  cannot  do  so  well  as  an  expert,  and  landscape  gar- 
dening is  a  life-study.  It  is  a  fine  art,  like  architecture,  music, 
poetry,  or  painting.  The  landscape  gardener  costs  more  at 
the  start,  but  is  cheaper  in  the  end,  because  he  saves  you  all 
the  bother  and  expense  of  rearranging  everything  when  you 
learn  better.  He  will  usually  save  his  fee  on  nursery  stock 
alone  by  buying  the  right  kinds  and  getting  them  at  wholesale 
rates.  Nearly  every  nursery  of  national  reputation  now  has  a 
landscape  department,  and  most  plans  involving  $100  or  less 
are  made  in  this  way.  Some  of  this  work  is  good,  but  there  are 
unworthy  men  in  every  line  of  business,  and  some  do  not  rise 
above  the  temptation  to  specify  four  plants  where  one  will  do, 
or  to  use  only  their  own  stock,  or  to  scatter  plants  in  the  gaudy 
way. 

Can't  you  plan  your  own  grounds  with  the  aid  of  this  cir- 
cular? If  you  prefer  to  have  experts  submit  plans,  you  can 
check  their  value  by  seeing  how  well  they  provide  for  every 
need  mentioned  in  the  first  sentence  of  each  paragraph  in  this 
circular.  No  book  can  ever  tell  you  just  how  to  plan  your  place, 
for  no  two  places  are  or  should  be  alike,  and  ready-made  plans 
are  of  little  or  no  value. 

HOW  TO  GET  A  FREE  ILLUSTRATED  LECTURE 

You  can  get  a  free  lecture,  illustrated  by  colored  lantern- 
slides,  called  "The  Illinois  Way  of  Beautifying  the  Farm,"  by 
applying  to  Wilhelm  Miller,  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana.  He 
will  send  you  a  box  containing  about  fifty  slides,  with  self- 
explanatory  captions,  so  that  you  can  read  them  to  a  local  audi- 
ence and  thus  avoid  all  lecturer's  fees  and  traveling  expenses. 
The  only  cost  is  the  express  both  ways,  which  is  about  $i. 
Thus,  the  small  rural  communities  can  have  an  entertainment 
worth  at  least  $i  a  seat  at  a  cost  of  one-half  to  five  cents  a 


person.  If  there  are  1,000  farmers  in  your  neighborhood,  by 
thorough  advertising  you  can  get  200  to  turn  out,  and  you  can 
persuade  100  to  sign  the  Australian  ballots  (see  back  cover), 
which  are  practically  promises  to  do  some  ornamental  plant- 
ing within  a  year.  By  organizing  and  "following  up,"  you  can 
get  the  farmers  to  spend  an  average  of  $10  the  first  year,  for 
nearly  every  farmhouse  needs  foundation  planting.  Copies 
of  the  "Australian  Ballot"  will  be  supplied,  and  can  serve  as 
programs.  Every  farmer  can  take  home  an  extra  copy  and 
nail  it  up  where  it  will  remind  him  daily  of  the  ideals  he  intends 
to  realize  this  year. 

THE   ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   THIS   CIRCULAR 

We  are  indebted  to  the  J.  Horace  McFarland  Co.,  Harrisburg,  Pa., 
for  Figs.  1,  2,  5,  6,  9,  10,  12,  13,  14,  19,  23,  24,  36  to  40,  42,  45,  47  to  50, 
55  to  58,  60  to  64,  66  to  69,  72  to  74,  76  to  82,  103,  104,  110,  and  112.  To 
N.  R.  Graves  for  Figs.  41,  44,  71,  and  83.  To  L.  E.  Foglesong  for  Figs. 
87,  96,  97,  and  98.  To  Henry  Fuermann  &  Sons  for  the  front  cover  and 
for  Figs.  3,  65,  99,  100,  101,  102,  105,  106,  108,  and  109.  To  Wm.  Robinson 
for  Fig.  4  from  photograph  by  George  Champion.  To  E.  J.  Hall  for  Fig. 
7.  To  Mrs.  Flora  Sims  for  Figs.  11,  31,  43,  and  89.  To  Prof.  J.  W.  Lloyd 
for  Figs.  15,  16,  and  54.  To  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for  Figs. 
17,  25,  26,  27,  28,  91,  and  92.  To  The  Decatur  Review  for  Figs.  18,  23,  and 
24.  To  Professor  B.S.  Pickett  for  Figs.  20,  88,  and  90.  To  The  Macmillan 
Co.  for  the  use  of  Figs.  21,  22,  and  53.  To  Arno  H.  Nehrling  for  Figs.  29, 
30,  35,  and  86.  To  the  H.  C.  White  Co.  for  the  hawthorn  used  in  Fig.  32. 
To  A.  W.  Bryant  for  Figs.  46,  75,  84,  and  85.  To  W.  C.  Egan  for  Figs.  51 
and  52.  To  B.  A.  Strauch  for  Fig.  59.  To  Chester  M.  Whitney  for  Fig.  70. 
To  Loring  Underwood  for  Figs.  93  and  94.  To  R.  E.  Brand  for  Fig.  95.  To 
A.  G.  Eldredge  for  Fig.  107.  To  the  Department  of  Horticulture  for  Fig. 
85.  To  Miss  B.  J.  Colwell  for  Fig.  8. 


THE  ILLINOIS  WAY  OF  PLANTING 
SCHOOL  GROUNDS 

You  can  make  fifty  dollars'  worth  of  improvement  in  the 
looks  of  your  school  at  a  cost  of  ten  dollars,  and  also  bring 
back  the  birds,  by  adopting  the  "Illinois  Way." 

Here  is  a  simple  scheme  for  making  permanent  improvement 
in  your  school  grounds,  which  is  practical  in  city  or  country, 
even  if  you  have  no  technical  knowledge  of  botany  or  horti- 
culture, and  even  if  you  have  no  money!  Plant  shrubs  and  vines 
native  to  Illinois  against  the  joundations  of  your  school.  Ten 


Parlor  tjnntf  /foonj 


98.  A   Foundation   Planting  of  Illinois  Shrubs  and  Vines 
The  sort  of  thine  that  any  farmer  can  do  without  cash  outlay  by  collecting  the  plants 
of  his  own  neighborhood.    He  will  get  better  results  by  buying  nursery-grown  plants  of  the 
same  species  at  a  cost  of  $20  to  $40.    The  arrows  point  toward  vines. 


KEY    TO   THE    ILLINOIS    FOUNDATION    PLANTING 
(Explaining  Fig.  98) 

1.  Maple-leaved  arrow-wood   (Viburnum  acerifolium). 

2.  High  bush  cranberry   (Viburnum  Opulus). 

3.  Hazelnut  (Corylus  americana). 

4.  Gray  dogwood    (Cornus  candidissima  or  paniculata). 

5.  Downy-leaved  arrow-wood   (Viburnum  pubescens). 

6.  Buffalo  currant   (Ribes  aureum). 

7.  Red  chokeberry   (Aronia  arbutifolia). 

8.  Silky  cornel   (Cornus  Amomum  or  sericea) 

9.  Red-osier  dogwood   (Cornus  stolonifera). 

10.  Black  chokeberry   (Aronia  nigra). 

11.  Shadbush   (Amelanchier  Botryapium). 

12.  Scarlet  sumac   (Rhus  glabra). 

13.  Sweet-scented  sumac   (Rhus  aromatica). 

14.  Illinois  or  dwarf  sumac   (Rhus  copallina). 

15.  Ferns  and   asters   (Aster,  etc.). 

16.  Sheepberry   (Viburnum   I.entago). 

17.  Illinois  or  prairie  rose  (Rosa  setigera). 

18.  Round-leaved  dogwood   (Cornus  circinata). 

19.  Northern  fox  grape   (Vitis  Labrusca). 

20.  Summer  grape  (Vitis  sestivalis). 

21.  Frost  grape  (Vitis  cordifolia). 

22.  Trumpet  creeper  (Tecoma  radicans). 

23.  Climbing  bittersweet   (Celastrus  scandens). 

24.  Virginia  creeper   (Parthenocissus  quinquefolia). 

25.  Virginia  virgin's  bower   (Clematis  virginiana). 


30 


THE     "ILLINOIS     WAY"     OF     BEAUTIFYING     THE     FARM 


99.  Before  Framing  the  Winter  View  with  Hawthorns 

ke,  river,  and  prairie  view  in  Ill  , 

the  time.    A  cheap,  practical,  and  permanent  way  to  enliven  it  is  shown  in  Fig.  100. 


Many  a  lake,  river,  and  prairie  view  m  Illinois  is  dull,  monotonous,  and  cold  much  of  Every  farmer  may  practice  the  "religion  of  the  prairie"  by  planting   stratified  trees 
.. . 1: :*  :_  _i :„  c:~ which  repeat  the  lines  of  the  prairie.    (Same  bank  as  Fig.  99,  on  M; 


100.  After  Framing  the  Winter  View  with  Hawthorns 

planting   st 

agnus  place,  Wmnetka.) 


101.  The  Old  Way  of  Treating  Water  Views 

All  vegetation  on  the  banks  was  destroyed  so  as  to  get  the  widest  view  possible.  No 
cruder  conception  of  art  can  be  imagined  than  blank  lawn,  blank  water,  and  blank  sky. 
Yet  many  people  still  fancy  that  trees  are  "unnecessary"  by  the  ocean  or  lake  shore.  It 
has  never  dawned  upon  them  that  a  view  needs  a  frame.  Trees  make  it  possible  to  break 
up  the  broad  views  into  many  intimate  pictures  as  seen  from  the  house,  without  destroy- 
ing the  broad  view,  which  is  still  visible  from  the  best  place,  viz.,  the  shore.  (This  photo- 
graph actually  shows  a  portion  of  the  same  lawn  seen  in  Fig.  102.)  On  a  gray  winter  day 
one  can  hardly  distinguish  land,  water,  and  clouds  in  such  a  view. 

dollars  will  usually  buy  all  the  shrubs  necessary  to  surround 
a  country  school,  and  ten  dollars  spent  at  the  "dramatic  spot" 
will  go  farther  than  fifty  dollars  scattered  over  the  lawn. 
Fifty  dollars  may  be  necessary  for  a  city  school,  but  you  can 
raise  the  money  by  private  subscription  if  you  will  show  these 
pictures  to  the  right  man.  The  results  will  be  so  satisfactory 
that  in  three  or  four  years,  when  the  shrubs  mature,  your 
community  will  consider  getting  a  comprehensive  plan  for  your 
schools,  which  will  make  provision  for  playgrounds,  school 
gardens,  planting,  and  all  other  outdoor  features. 

Even  if  you  have  no  technical  knowledge  and  no  money  you 
can  do  the  foundation  planting  this  spring.    No  plan  is  neces- 


102.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Treating  Water  Views 

"I  persuaded  my  neighbor  to  plant  this  tree  to  frame  his  views  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
to  form  a  natural  arbor?  Isn't  this  better  than  a  man-made  arbor?  From  here  he  has  an 
unbroken  view  of  the  magnificent  shore-line  to  the  left.  From  the  porch  his  lake  view  is  no 
longer  cold,  dull,  and  monotonous,  but  intimate  and  personal,  because  this  stratified 
hawthorn  is  silhoutted  against  water  and  sky,  repeating  on  a  smaller  scale  the  great  lines 
of  the  landscape.  Formerly,  when  a  steamer  went  by  it  was  lost  in  space;  now  it  makes  a 
strong  and  stirring  picture  when  seen  between  the  hawthorn  and  the  oak.  T  he  dotted  haw 
(Crattegus  punctata),  we  moved  from  the  woods."  (Signed)  W.  C.  Egan,  Highland  Park,  III. 

sary.  All  you  need  is  the  gumption  to  help  the  children  dig 
and  fertilize  the  ground,  to  take  them  out  on  two  or  three 
Saturday  afternoon  walks,  and  to  bring  home  the  common 
bushes  that  grow  wild  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  school. 
Surely,  you  can  tell  wild  grape,  Virginia  creeper,  wild  clematis, 
bittersweet,  sumach,  prairie  rose,  buckbush,  or  elderberry? 
If  not,  any  farmer  can  tell  you  some  of  them  even  in  winter. 
And  even  if  only  one  kind  is  available  that  is  better  than 
nothing.  A  schoolhouse  surrounded  by  sumach  or  elder  looks 
twice  as  well  as  one  that  is  absolutely  bare.  You  can  dig  these 
bushes  in  March  or  early  April,  before  the  buds  begin  to  swell. 
Then  you  can  organize  the  children  to  protect  the  birds  and 


103.  A  Road  without  Hawthorns 

A  sure  way  to  kill  interest  in  country  life  is  to  cut  down  all  hawthorns  and  crab  apples, 
and  leave  only  weeds,  poles,  wires,  and  mud.     Along  the  roadside  we  want  thorny  shrubs 


that  will  take  care  of  tnemselves  and  not  be  overrun  by  animals. 


104.  The  Same  Road  with  Hawthorns 

Illinois  can  excel  tiie  rest  of  the  world  in  beauty  only  by  planting  everywhere  the  pecu- 
liar trees  and  shrubs  which  Nature  designed  her  to  grow  to  perfection,  especially  stratified 
hawthorns  and  crab  apples.  , 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"    OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE     FARM 


31 


105.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Landscape  Gardening  Is  Not  a  Mere  Dream — It  Really  Exists  Now 

Here  is  a  part  of  the  famous  "prairie  river"  in  Humboldt  Park,  Chicago,  with  a  miniature  cataract  modeled  after  those  in  the  Rock  River,  and  a  bank  full  of  yellow,  daisy-like 
flowers,  e.g.,  compass  plants  and  coneflowers,  symbolizing  the  vast  sheets  of  composite  flowers  that  once  glorified  the  prairie  state.    (Designed  by  Jens  Jensen.) 

water  the  shrubs  during  the  summer.    A  teacher  who   hasn't     schools  need  foundation  planting,  why  native  shrubs  are  best, 
spunk  enough  to  do  this  much  would  better  quit.  why  the  gaudy  style  is  objectionable,  and  why  the  "Illinois 

The  Arbor  and  Bird  Day  Manual  for  1914  explains  why     Way"  is  better. 


1 06.  You  Can  Restore  and  Intensify  the  "Local  Color"  on  Your  Farm 

The  people  of  Chicago  have  created  at  great  expense  the  sort  of  thing  every  farmer  can  enjoy  for  nothing.    This  prairie  river  landscape  was  designed  by  Jensen,  and  planted  with 
common  Illinois  flowers,  e.g.,  swamp  rose  mallow,  blue  flag,  water-lily,  calamus,  phlox,  etc. 


32 


THE    "ILLINOIS    WAY"     OF    BEAUTIFYING    THE    FARM 


107.  An  Illinois  Bird-Garden 

"Under  this  wild  grape-vine  is  a  little  pool  that  attracts  thousands  of  birds.  Over  fifty  species  have  been  counted 
within  a  short  time,  and  this  too  in  a  great  city!  The  songs,  colors,  and  actions  of  these  birds  have  delighted  our  family 
every  day  for  many  years.  Anyone  can  have  this  sort  of  bird-garden.  1  he  pool  is  simply  an  oval  piece  of  concrete,  about 
2  by  3  feet,  and  the  water  is  only  three  inches  deep  in  the  middle.  Cost  not  more  than  $2  for  cement,  plants,  and  labor." 
(Signed)  O.  C.  Simonds,  Landscape  Gardener,  Chicago,  111. 


thorns  and  crab  apples,  dogwoods, 
elders,  and  viburnums. 

To  feed  the  birds  the  year  round, 
plant  some  of  the  following:  (The  num- 
bers in  parenthesis  indicate  the  number 
of  species  of  birds  known  to  feed  on 
these  berries.)  Common  and  red  elder 
(67);  silky,  gray,  red,  and  green  dog- 
woods (47);  fragrant,  Illinois,  and 
smooth  sumach  (47);  high  bush  and 
dwarf  blueberry  (37);  dwarf  June- 
berry  (20);  maple-leaved  and  other 
viburnums  (16);  Illinois  and  Eastern 
spice  bush  (11);  Illinois,  glossy,  and 
smooth  rose  (10);  Missouri  and  wild 
black  currant  (10).  (Statistics  from 
McAtee's  "Plants  Useful  to  Attract 
Birds  and  Protect  Fruit,"  which  you 
can  get  free  from  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture  by  asking  for  Yearbook 
Separate  No.  504). 

To  furnish  nesting-places  for  birds, 
plant  the  Missouri  and  wild  black  cur- 
rants. Intersperse  the  viburnums  with 
the  Illinois  rose,  and  then  keep  out  the 
cats  by  means  of  box  traps  and  chloro- 
form. 

On   light   and   sandy   soil   plant   red 


SHRUBS   FOR   SPECIAL   NEEDS 

For  the  north  or  shady  side  of  your  schoolhouse  plant 
silky,  gray,  red,  or  green  dogwood,  fragrant  sumach,  wild 
black  currant,  common  or  red  elder,  dwarf  blueberry,  high 
bush  blueberry,  maple-leaved  viburnum,  arrow-wood,  nanny- 
berry  or  downy  viburnum. 

To  repeat  the  prairie  lines,  plant  stratified   Illinois  haw- 


108.  The  "Illinois  Way"  of  Cemetery  Planting 


Not  a  stone  in  sight.  The  dominant  thought  is  comfort,  beauty,  inspiration.  Every  spring  this  landscape  changes 
from  death  to  life.  It  is  Nature's  symbol  of  the  resurrection  of  the  soul.  The  cemetery  should  not  be  the  place  of  hopeless 
grief,  but  a  temple  of  beauty — a  vision  of  a  better  life  here  and  now.  (Graceland  Cemetery,  Chicago,  designed  by  O.  C. 
Simonds.) 


elder,  dwarf  Juneberry,  green  dogwood,  or  fragrant,  Illinois, 
and  smooth  sumach.  All  shrubs  in  the  table  will  grow  in  a  wide 
range  of  soils,  except  blueberries. 

Against  high  foundations  plant  Illinois  spice  bush,  common 

elder,    high    bush    blueberry,    arrow-wood,    nannyberry,    high 

bush  cranberry,  red  bud,  black  haw,  scarlet  and  cockspur  thorn, 

bladder   nut,  winterberry,  strawberry  bush  or  burning  bush. 

To    prevent    cutting    across    and    to    protect    birds    from 

their   enemies,    plant   prickly   ash   and 

Illinois  rose,  mixed  with  other  shrubs; 

cat-brier  trailing  over  other  shrubs,  or 

low-running  blackberry. 

[The  above  lists    were    prepared    by 

Mr.    Franz  A.   Aust    and    Mr.    L.    E. 

Foglesong,  who  have  rendered  valuable 

assistance  in  many  ways.] 

PERMANENT  VINES 

MAY.  —  Wistaria  Chinensis. 

JUNE.  —  *Wild  grapes,  *  Illinois  rose 
(Rosa  setigera)  and  its  varieties.— 
Baltimore  Belle,  Queen  of  the  Prairies, 
and  Gem  of  the  Prairies,  also  Rosa 
multiflora. 

JULY.  —  Memorial  Rose  (Rosa  Wichu- 
raiana),  *trumpet  creeper,  and  *wild 
clematis. 

AUGUST.  —  Clematis  paniculata  and 
*AmpeIopsis  cordata  (Vitis  indivisa), 
with  showy  blue  berries. 

SEPTEMBER.  —  *Virginia  creeper  and 
*EngeImann's  ivy. 

OCTOBER  TO  MARCH.  —  Evergreen  bit- 
tersweet (Euonymus  radicans,  var. 
vegetus),  trailing  myrtle  (Vinca  minoi), 
*  Illinois  rose  and  multiflora  rose. 

'Native  to  Illinois. 


log.  A  Bird-Garden  in  the  Heart  of  Chicago,  Which  Is  an  Outdoor  Living-Room  the  Year  Round 

It  consists  of  a  dancing  spring,  with  rockwork  modeled  after  the  Rock  River,  a  food-house  to  shelter  the  birds  in  winter,  and  shrubs  with  edible  berries  to  feed  the 
round.  The  bird-garden  is  probably  the  best  type  of  ornamental  garden  ever  invented  in  America.  It  is  more  permanent  than  the  Colonial  garden,  costs  less  to  main 
lite,  and  is  attractive  more  months  in  the  year.  It  can  be  adapted  to  every  climate,  environment,  and  purse.  (Mrs.  Albert  H.  Loeb's  garden,  designed  by  Jens  Jensen.) 


THE   RELIGION   OF  THE  PRAIRIE 

The  most  creative  people  who  ever  lived  were  the  Greeks, 
but  the  greatest  race  the  world  shall  ever  know  will  be  cradled 
in  the  Middle  West.  The  climate  and  the  landscape  make  that 
certain.  For  the  Middle  West  is  the  world's  greatest  runway 
for  the  winds — and  for  ideas.  We  have  no  complicated  moun- 
tain systems,  as  Europe  does,  to  breed  endless  artificial  differ- 
ences of  dress,  language,  and  thought.  There  is  not  one  range 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Rockies  to  stop  the  sweep  of 
the  winds  or  the  triumphal  march  of  man's  progress.  A  better 
\\ay  of  doing  things,  or  a  nobler  ideal,  spreads  like  a  prairie 
fire.  An  extreme  climate  breeds  a  lusty  body,  and  a  broad 
landscape  instils  breadth  of  mind.  These  two  forces,  acting 
siiently  throughout  the  centuries,  will  beget  a  corresponding 
breadth  of  soul.  Environment  must,  in  time,  make  its  mark. 

No  longer  do  men  fear,  hate,  or 
despise  the  prairie.  They  once  thought 
that  flat  land  must  ever  be  monoto- 
nous, dull,  stupefying.  But  a  new,  virile, 
prairie  school  of  art  has  opened  our 
eyes  to  the  meaning  of  those  vast 
horizontal  lines  of  land,  crops,  woods, 
and  sky,  which  are  the  peculiar  glory  of 
the  prairie. 

The  heavenward-pointing  mountain 
i$  not  the  only  symbol  of  aspiration; 
the  ever-stretching  ocean  and  the  prairie 
a|te  also  symbols  of  the  Infinite.  The 
biarren  mountains  and  unharvested  sea 
njtay  smite  the  soul  with  awe,  but  the 
joyous  prairie  is  the  world's  loveliest 
reminder  of  God's  endless  bounty.  The 
siecret  charm  of  every  prairie  view  is  the 
1  ision  which  it  inspires  of  a  united 
and  prosperous  humanity.  The  sublime 
breadth  of  the  earth's  surface  stirs  every 
•  >ne  to  consecrate  his  life  toward  realizing 
1;hat  vision.  This  is  the  "religion  of  the 
oraine"  that  is  getting  into  men's  bones. 
Everyone  who  works  for  the  good  of 
,  lis  community  knows  what  this  means. 


Western  art,  therefore,  is  essentially  religious.  Its  chief 
motive  is  to  glorify  the  horizontal  lines  that  symbolize  infinite 
breadth  and  bounty.  Religion  makes  the  western  architect 
and  landscape  designer  repeat  in  house  and  garden  the  lovely  line 
of  the  land.  Religion  thrills  the  western  painters  to  portray  the 
widespread  arms  of  crab  apple  and  hawthorn.  Religion  stirs 
western  musicians,  sculptors,  and  poets  to  express  the  vast 
scale  and  subtle  sweetness  of  the  prairie.  The  religion  of  the 
prairie  is  the  gospel  of  beauty.  The  waving  banners  of  the  corn 
beget  the  insurgent  soul.  The  Middle  West  is  a  "far-flung 
battle-line"  that  fights  corruption  and  ugliness  in  every  form. 
Can't  you  see  it  marching  irresistibly  toward  the  inevitable 
goal  of  universal  brotherhood  ?  Isn't  this  your  religion  ?  Have 
you  enlisted  for  the  fight  ?  If  not,  join  some  chamber  of  com- 
merce, commercial  club,  or  farmers'  organization  and  work! 
Let  us  all  sacrifice  something  for  the  common  good ! 


no.  What  You  Can  Get  for  Nothing 

The  best  plants  in  the  world,  free, — Illinois  trees, 
shrubs,  and  flowers.  Beginning  at  the  upper  left  corner, 
they  are:  Flowering  dogwood,  to  frame  the  view  of 
your  house;  American  bluebells,  to  restore  charm  to 
•pur  woods;  white  pines  to  make  a  dignified  approach; 
_iigh  bush  cranberry,  for  red  berries  against  the  snow 
aliwinter;  Virginia  creeper  for  the  porch;  sumach,  to 
screen  an  outbuilding;  the  old  tree  in  the  field  to  leave 
for  the  children;  elders  for  your  bird-garden;  a  tulip 
tree,  to  make  a  background  For  the  house;  red  cedars 
for  windbreaks;  Illinois  rose  and  high  bush  cranberry 
for  your  Illinois  border.  Dig  only  where  there  are  too 
many  for  their  own  good,  ana  do  not  be  greedy.  Better 
still,  buy  them  from  Illinois  nurserymen. 


„ 


* 

; 


:t 


J.  Horace  McFartand  Company,  Mount   Pleasant   Press,    Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania 


IT  I.  Before  You  Plant  against  the  Foundations 

Your  house,  whether  you  live  in  city  or  country,  will  look  as  bare  as  these  houses  did 
in  1013,  before  seventeen  houses  in  three  blocks  were  planted  under  the  direction  of  Profes- 
sor Root.  The  foundation  is  the  one  spot  around  every  house  that  needs  attention  first  of 
all.  Forget  everything  else  and  register  a  promise  right  now  that  you  will  do  the  funda- 
mental thing  necessary  to  make  your  house  look  like  a  real  home ! 


112.  After  You  Plant  against  the  Foundations 

In  three  years  your  planting  will  look  as  well  as  this,  for  small  shrubs  of  nursery  sir.e 
mature  in  three  or  four  years.    The  best  way  is  to  use  Illinois  plants  for  Illinois  problems, 
as  much  as  possible,  but  any  way  is  good,  provided  you  use  permanent  shrubs  and  vines. 
Invest  $10  now  in  foundation  planting  ana  you  will  be  so  delighted  with  the  results  .hat  . 
in  three  years  you  will  have  a  comprehensive  plan  for  your  home  grounds. 


I   WILL 

D  Plant  or  improve  my  WINDBREAK,  not  live  in  a  bare,  wind-swept  spot. 

D  SCREEN  unsightly  objects,  e.  g.,  barnyard  and  outbuildings. 

D  Frame  the  VIEW  of  my  house  from  the  road  and  of  the  farm  from  my  dining-room  and  porch. 

D  Plant  bushes  and  vines  against  the  FOUNDATIONS  of  my  house. 

D   Make  a  good  permanent  LAWN,  not  a  cheap  weed-patch,  and  keep  the  center  open,  not 
scatter  plants  over  it. 

D  Have  SHRUBBERY,  instead  of  artificial  hedges,  or  temporary  flower-beds  in  the  middle 
of  the  lawn. 

D   Save  old  TREES  on  lawn,  roadside,  or  pasture. 

D   Plant  chiefly  long-lived  NATIVE  MATERIAL,  not  short-lived  "quick-growers"  or  foreign 
and  artificial  varieties. 

D   Make  a  practical  FLOWER-GARDEN,  e.  g.,  a  cut-flower,  bird,  children's  wild,  winter,  or 
tree  garden,  instead  of  copying  something  eastern,  English,  or  Italian. 

D   Plant  an  ILLINOIS  BORDER,  sacred  to  Illinois  trees,  shrubs,  and  wild  flowers. 

D   Restore  and  preserve  the  LOCAL  COLOR,  instead  of  destroying  every  shrub  within  a  mile. 

D  Adopt  the  ILLINOIS  WAY,  not  the  gaudy,  conventional,  and  imitative  style,  for  I  do  not 
want  my  place  to  look  like  every  beginner's  the  world  over. 

D  Build  and  plant  a  PERMANENT  COUNTRY  HOME. 

D   PLAN  or  re-plan  my  home  grounds,  or  engage  a  landscape  gardener. 

Without  agreeing  to  pay  anybody  anything,  I  promise  to  do  some  permanent  ornamental 
planting  within  a  year. 


